"The Only Way To Get Close "

                                           

 Sept 6^th 2015  Psalm 213 James 2- 1-17  Mark 7: 24-37

We Human beings have a great thrust for the word favourite.   How many of us here today have a favourite story, book, movie TV show, desert , who is your favourite person, sibling, or relative.     I don’t know about you but with I was growing up I wanted to be the favoured kid in my family.  It made you feel important, and my parents, teachers, and co-workers all taught me well, favourites have status.   You were not only handled differently but you received differently.   But what they didn't teach you was, that favouritism is always short lived.  No one gets to hold that position forever and sometimes it is not even for very long.  How many of us here today have felt the accolades of others one day, then turn into scorn and rejection the next.  What they, parents and teachers, and coaches, didn't tell me was that hatred, and jealously are the side effects of being favoured.    I know people who literally nearly kill themselves trying to be the favoured one, any names come to mind!   It is a fact of live people, we love favourites and favouritism, but only for a short time.  We either want to be one or we want to be best friends with one. And some people will do anything to become part of the pack.    We all want to be associated with the winners, or the successful people of our world.  We do not want to seen with or have close ties to the losers in life do we? 

The illustration from today’s reading from James is a good example of how Jesus teaching goes contrary to the ways and the teachings of the world.   By following our own human standards, those which are set outside the will of God, we become like lost sheep.  Loneness, and depression do not come from God and they are not part of God’s plan for you.   They come because we don’t understand how precious we are to our heavenly parent.  The negative image you carry of yourself does not come from God.  The truth is that when we fall away from God’s intended plan for us, when we make up our own natural laws, and rules to live by, we generally have to face the circumstances of our own free will.  This great wisdom and truth can be found in the original garden story from Genesis.    When we ignore God and the natural flow of nature and began to follow our own standards for living and creating, we will pay a price as we are seeing in today’s society.   We don’t have to look far to see how humanity is doing controlling our world, our environment and we don’t have to look far to see how the world is handling what man creates. 

James condemns acts of favouritism.   The irony of this worldly teaching is this folks;  the supposed winners in our world, those who accumulate wealth, positions power, or an impressive life style, these things come at great cost, and it usually is at the expense or the cost of others.  We cannot claim to be good, generous and rich while others suffers in the world.  This is not God’s plan.   In addition, those who win, find it difficult to identify themselves with the lost, and with God’s humble servant, Jesus. 

We are faced with a difficult teaching here as we have been conditioned from very young by parent, teachers and employers that life is measured in our successes, not our failures.  The paradox here is that successes comes not from successes but from learned mistakes, that which fails us in the beginning.  No one wants to be left behind in this aggressive, materialistic world.  We all want to be successful to some degree in a worldly way.  So I ask you to seriously, in the week to come, take a look at what impresses you.  Check out your motives for doing and how it effects your neighbour, our environment and those on the margins of life. 

How do you feel about the Syrian crises.   God views all people as equal, but Gods heart goes out to the poor and powerless.  We should and our country should too follow the example of Christ if we claim to be Christian. 

One of the big mistakes we find in looking at people in this manner is that we often judge a person by their color, geographical location, sexual orientation, race or economic status.   Winners and wealth especially in the West indicate to us intelligence, wise decisions and hard work we think.   On the other hand it may mean only that a person had the good fortune of being born in the right place at the right time and into a wealthy family.  But it can also be a sign of greed, dishonesty, and selfishness.  By honouring someone in this way we make appearance more important than character.  The women in the story from Mark today is from Syria a Greek Gentile who worships many Gods in statue form.   Yet that does not stop Jesus from offering his healing touch and presence.  This is the hardest lesion that any Christian must learn.  We accept all no matter what.  There are no strings attached to our love an acceptance or our forgiveness. 

I have a couple question for you think about in the coming week.  Does poverty, race, sexuality or religious denomination make you uncomfortable?   How do you respond to those who are less fortunate or are in a minority in your community? 

Often people tell me that poverty, religious denomination or sexual orientation makes them feel uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to feel empathy for their condition or responsible to do anything to help understand of ease their anxiety.     James tells us that this kind of thinking insults the minority and the poor.   Is there not enough love to go around for everyone?  No one should be without this necessity in life, the necessity of feeling loved.  God loves us all equally as we should love one another.  I go back to the theme of the last few weeks.   There is only one commandment that will bring justice to all.   LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND, SOUL, and STRENGTH AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. 

Thank be to God Let us Pray.   
                                                    

"Good Morals Verses A Good Heart"

                                         

When you have a good heart

You help too much

You trust too much

You love too much 

And it always seems you hurt the most

August 30 2009 Readings:  Matthew 15: 1-20

Which of the two would you say is the most important the brain or the heart?  Why?

Medical science will tells us without your heart the body ceases to exist, death is certain when the heart ceases to function.  Not so with the brain, it is possible for you to be physically still alive, but completely brain dead.   I’m sure we all know or at least think we know somebody with this condition.  

A little girl asked her mother, "Where did people come from?"

Her mother answered, "God made the first man Adam and his wife Eve and they had children and we are all part of their family.      

A couple of days later she asked her father the same question.

The father answered, "Men of Science tell us that we all started out as monkeys, from there we evolved into humans."

The confused little girl returned to her mother and said, "Mommy, how is it possible that you told me that we were created by God, and Daddy said we came from monkeys?"

The mother answered, "Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his."  

The heart of a church can be found in its mission, and its mission is, to love and serve others.  The heartbeat of any family, society or church can be found in its respond to care for one another.     Matthew 5:8   “tells us Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Rev. David Chadwell posed a rather interesting question:  Which would you prefer for a next-door neighbor: a person of excellent habits {morals} or a person with a good heart? Which would you prefer for a good friend, for a husband, wife or child: a person of excellent habits {morals} or a person with a good heart?

It is wonderful to have a neighbor who conscientiously cares for his property while respecting your property. It is wonderful to have a friend who always treats you with consideration. It is wonderful to be married to a husband who always is thoughtful and courteous, or to a wife who always is gracious in her comments and deeds.   It is wonderful to have a son or daughter who shows respect for others and uses good manners.  As wonderful as these situations are, none of these behaviors can compare to having a good heart.   When you discuss good behavior, you are discussing the quality of a person's self-control, their moral or ethical performance, their manners etc.  May I suggest that when you discuss a good heart, you are discussing the quality of the person.  A person of good heart is authentic and holds the ability to love and treat others in the same way they treat themselves.  If we only look at how others keep up personal appearances, follows the rules and traditions of family, society, community or church, we can be misled.   Jesus wants us to look deeper into our own heart, and take note of how we love and care for self and our neighbor.   

This is the focus of today’s Scripture.   Pharisees and teachers have come down from Jerusalem and they are gathered around Jesus but have been eying his disciples. The disciples, it seems, are eating lunch.  It appears that they are too hungry to care about religious ritual, or it may be that they have not been schooled in observing the Jewish ritual of washing before eating, they immediately sit down to eat with unwashed hands. 

The Pharisees cease upon this ceremonial oversight and question Jesus:  Why don’t your disciples live according to the traditions of the elders and clean their hands before they eat?  This is all that Jesus needs to hear in order to make his point as he turns to these lawmakers and teachers saying in essence, "Why do you not live according to the traditions of God and cleanse your hearts?"  Here Jesus is very pointed in his reply suggesting that good manners and following religious rituals that have been created by man will not produce a cleansed heart.  This poses a question for us today doesn’t it.  We all know someone who has a generous and loving heart, but is not interested in the ritual of Sunday morning worship, does this make them spiritually unclean, or somehow unworthy of God’s amazing grace?     In Matthew 15:  7 Jesus calls the religious leaders hypocrites because of their observance of man made rules and standards, while ignoring the great commandment.  Can you recite it with me?    “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

May I suggest that there is no standard for Sin, a mistake is a mistake and no one escapes making mistakes.  Yet there are those who feel because of who they are, their present circumstances, their past, or some rules, traditions or regulations of their Christian denomination, they are not worthy.  It may be because of an unspoken dress code, the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, or because they smoke, drink, curse swear, gamble a little on the lotto, or have covered their body in tattoos, my question here is:  who has set the standards for worthiness here?  Jesus is pushing his listeners to the limits, here folks, especially when we in the church profess to know that God accepts all, and loves all unconditionally, we need to be that visible example.   Jesus accepted persons from all walks of life, those with different religious backgrounds, people off the streets, tax collectors, thieves, prostitutes, the poor, and especially the rejected minority and yes just regular middle class folk, those in the trades or business, fisherman, farmers and yes the rich man too.   No one was or is excluded from his camp of unconditional love and forgiveness.        

The question we must consider is; have we fallen into the same trap as the Pharisees, judging others by society standards or the observance of religious rule and ritual.   Is this message from the Gospel for us in the church today?   It can be just as easy for us to fall into a good habit and leave behind a good heart.  Jesus warns the Pharisees, not to prefer creeds, deeds or rituals over God’s way of unconditional love and acceptance.   James 4:8 we read “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts,”   How a person appears on the outside, in dress, with good deeds, attending worship regularly isn't necessarily what lies within the heart.   Our society has been trained to look for the polished, the shiny, that shows quality.   True quality cannot be seen by looking at the exterior only.  We can make the mistake of judging others by physical condition, their way of life, their dress, and their morals displays which can distract us from seeing the qualities which lies within a good heart.  God is not just looking for good Creeds and Deeds, but for clean hands and a clean Heart.   Jesus gives us the one great commandment which will cleanse the heart of anyone who follows it.  Luke 10: 27 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”  Let us Pray.

                               "WE ARE ALL WORTHY"  take a moment and watch. 

All We Need Is "LOVE"

Religion does not have a patent on LOVE 
Nor can Religious Law or Church Doctrine contain it 
Sim Rushton 

Questions:   We often used the word training when it comes to animals but what about people.  Do we train people?  

Can you think of some positive ways you personally have been trained?  What about some negative Ways?    Have you ever personally felt restricted and confined or inadequate because of your training?   

Aug 23 2015 Hebrews 12: 18-29  Psalm 7  Luke 13: 10-17

Healing in Jesus time was consider part of the professional work of a Doctor and practising ones profession on the Sabbath was prohibited by religious law.  Therefore the great physician Jesus was breaking the law and was looked upon with scorn.   When Jesus confronts the leaders of the church with the truth about their abuse of the law, they are humiliated.  Every time Jesus shows up and begins to preform acts of compassionate love or speaks the truth it causes discomfort and division.  Isn't it ironic that every time truth shows up, instead of embracing it, most people, especially the religious both then and now want to shut it up.  Do you suppose, that there is something to this old saying “the truth hurts”.   Or is it a myth, because the scriptures tell us that the truth was not meant for hurt, the truth was meant to set you free.    

Listen to this story:    

A young man had found a baby eagle in the forest which had fallen out of its nest.  The man took the eagle home and placed it among the fowl, ducks and turkeys on his farm and gave it chicken food to eat.    Five years had passed when a naturalist had heard stories of an extraordinary chicken and so came to see it for himself.   The bird had grown into a magnificent creature with a wing span of over 12 feet.  “That is not a chicken” said the naturalist, “this is an eagle.”   No said the man, “I’ve trained it to be a chicken and it will never fly.”   “That’s ridiculous” said the naturalist  “Once an eagle always an eagle,  besides  it has the heart of an eagle and I can prove it to you.”       So he picked up the bird perched it on his arm and said, “You are an eagle, you belong to the sky not the earth, stretch your wings and fly.   But the birds head remained looking down, its saw the chickens eating and so, jumped to the ground and began plucking and eating.   “See” said the man “it’s a chicken and it will never fly”.   That naturalist would not give in and asked to take the bird up to the roof top and try again.  But the bird head looking down saw the chickens eating and jumped to the roof, then the ground and went back to plucking and eating.   “See I told you so” said the man “It is a chicken and it will never fly.”  The naturalist stunned, but not ready to give up, ask if he could try one more time.  So, the next morning he took the bird and went into the wilderness to a mountain top.  The sun was just beginning to rise above the peek.   He placed the magnificent bird on his arm and said “you are an eagle; you belong to the sky not the ground, spread your wings and fly”.  The bird trembling with its head still looking down, back and forth, but no one was there.   The naturalist gently lifted its head skyward so it could see and feel the brilliance of the morning sun, then all of a suddenly, with the screech of an eagle, the bird took to flight, higher and higher until it went out of sight. 

Although it had been tamed as a chicken, it really was and always will be an eagle. Now comes the question folks, and this might seem strange to you at first, but can anyone here relate to the eagle in the story.   How many of us have felt restricted, confined or held back by our training?  Never really feeling that we able to spread our wings and take to flight, never really experiencing our real full potential.  You may think this an odd question because when we think of training we usually think of an animal or pet, not humans.  But think about it folks, how many of the women here today can claim to have trained your husbands?  Right!!! or vice versa.      We all have been and do train ourselves and in many ways don’t we?    We train kids to ride a bike, play hockey, and compete athletically.  We train doctors, lawyers, teachers etc.   We can also train ourselves in the forming of habits, some good some bad.  TV and magazine advertisers love the fact that we can be trained. Trained to buy their technological wonders, clothing like Nike, Puma, Roots, Polo products like Mary K, auto-mobiles like Ford, Chrysler, Chev, Toyota you name it, we have been trained.  Now I will go one step further to say that most of us have had religious training of some sort, some bad, some good.   

A lady described  for me a therapy session where she was asked this question: “have you ever consider this, that everything your mother, father or your religion taught you might not be right or true?  Now for those who cannot get beyond their earthly parents as their true parent or claim that their religious doctrine is the way, this might be a hard pill to swallow.  But folks may I suggest to you that there is only one true parent, your heavenly parent, creator of us all and there is only one true way, and "the way" is love, shown to us through the divine light of the Christ.   

Before Christianity, Jesus offered and shows his disciples by example the WAY of God and in the process his followers became known as "People Of The Way"   This way of loving people was and still is so radical, no religion can claim to own the patent and it cannot not be contained by religious laws or church doctrine.  Gods love is not about following a set of rules, belonging to the right religion, doing good or about becoming successful in the eyes of the world.  It is all about being trained to love as we are loved, without conditions, not strings attached, a love full of forgiveness and grace.   This wisdom gave Jesus the insight and ability to love and forgive all.   Jesus understood that and we too must be enlightened by His love and forgiveness so it can free us from the bondage of Christian denominations, religious laws and church doctrine.   Jesus was trained and programmed to bridge religious barriers and to love not matter what.  It was because of his love that He broke the rules, healed the bent women and that same love can heal and restore you, and  His truth can set you free . 
Want to understand the root of this training.  Paul wrote about it in 1 Corinthians 13:  read it, study it, take in its wisdom, it is all about love.  There you shall find the attributes of your heavenly parent which brings real love, real peace and real contentment into your life and it will spill over into your family and your other relationships no matter what, be you poor or rich.  May I suggest that this is the only training we need, to know who’s we are and to love as we have been loved.  
                                                ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE 

"FORGIVE THEM" Are you Kidding Me!!

                                   

The Gift of Forgiveness is for you! 

FORGIVENESS does not excuse behaviour,

Nor can it change what they have done.

FORGIVENESS can prevent your compassionate heart 
from turning to stone. 

Sim Rushton

Aug 16, 2015   Luke 11: 1-5 - 2 Samuel 11 David and Bathsheba,

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  Some translations use the word 

trespasses instead of debtors.  We recite that line as part of the Lord’s Prayer most Sunday 

mornings in our church, and yet no matter how familiar it is, that phrase, those words, they 

often stick in my throat, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”    It reminds me 

that God expects me to forgive myself and others just as He has freely forgiven. But I think it’s safe 

to say that for most of us, our track record when it comes to extending grace and 

forgiveness to self and people who have wronged us is probably quite mixed.  Listen to this modern

day parable. 

One very hot day, two companions were walking along a sea shore.  A heated argument broke out during the conversation and one companion slapped the other on the face. The slap brought with it, a deep and painful affliction.  The recipient stopped, bent down and wrote this in the sand, “today my best friend slapped me in the face”.    As they continued their journey, they came upon a quiet cove and decided to cool off in the clam waters.  The one who had been slapped became caught in an unseen strong current, drifted and began to drown.  The other companion swam out to save the afflicted one.  When they got safely to shore, the afflicted one wrote this on a stone, “today my best friend saved my life .”  Perplexed the other said “after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on stone, why”? When your best friend hurts you, write with regret in sand, where the winds of time can slowly erase it.  When your best friend does you good, write with gratitude on a stone where the winds of regret have little or no effect and it will always be there to carry you through.   

We cannot change our past but we can learn to forgive ourselves and others.   What we can change is our future.   A future drenched in gratitude will last a lifetime, and gratitude will become your companion for eternity.

Often I am asked this question: What if it’s too late to extend forgiveness, because the person who hurt me, is dead or gone? What do I do if the person I hurt  is no longer around to hear my apology or my plea for forgiveness? 
May I make a suggestion here: either way share your burden of guilt with someone 

whom you can trust, someone non judgemental.  Now I know that many of you might 

think that someone would be hard to find but there is always someone we can share 

with.  Be specific and completely candid.   Use Prayer to confess openly the wrong 

and the guilt you have been carrying.    Prayer and the presence of an understanding 

heart, meaning some affirming, a non-judgemental individual can provide the relief 

you so desperately need.    Folks we need each other, we were meant for each other 

and it started with the first couple,  in the very beginning, it was and still is the will of 

God.   We need to learn on each other.  click and listen                           “Lean On Me”

Lets use the example of King David from 2 Samuel chapter 11.  Take some time to read the 

story and refresh your memory.  After David had indirectly caused the death of Bathsheba’s 

husband, Uriah, his guilt was enormous.  Adultery, a child out of wedlock on top of murder was crushing him. 

Finally, he broke his silence and sought God’s forgiveness, but Uriah 

was not there to hear his confession.  He had been dead almost a year. The broken king 

David, called on the prophet Nathan and poured out his guilt, Nathan assures David that his 

sin was forgiven, but reminds David that forgiven sin will not eradicate the consequences of 

his actions.   We too must not make that mistake of thinking that repentance will eradicate 

our past, for the scars of the past will crop up from time to time, and we will still need those 

reminders written in stone to get us through.    

Death or geographical distance can seem to disrupt the critical act of reconciliation between 

two people.   But let us never forget that God’s grace is greater than anything that can 

separate us from each other, even death.   It is never too late to surrender your burden, 

asking for or offering forgiveness.   Remembering that Jesus invites us to come “Come all 

who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”  You see, sometimes the suffering we 

encounter is not necessarily all for us. GOD sometimes restores us and allows our 

sufferings to become a testament of His Greatness to encourage and lead others to Him.  

Part of loving God means praising Him because he does the work of forgiveness with you.  

The timing must be right, your whole heart must be in it, you must be ready, then your 

surrendered can and will take place and you will fell the the lightness as your burden is 

lifted.  A person who is truly reconciled to God and others will not have to say anything nor 

is there any need to go out of their way to show it, for they will began to speak from the 

heart, and the heart will reveal their truly awakened character.  

"I Pray And Nothing Happens?"

Folks This will be my last post until the 16th of August as I will be away on holidays enjoy thank you for listening. 
July 28 2013   Psalm 85  Colossians 2:6 -15  Luke 11: 1-13

Last week we listen to and discussed the story of Mary and Martha. We may have learned that being faithful to God involves more than doing things out of love - that an authentic doing of the word arises out of hearing the word.  I believe that was what Jesus was trying to say to Martha, that Mary has chosen something better than just doing first.  First we need to hear the word then we put it into action.  Many have a difficultly taking time out to attend a gathering where the word is shared.  Many never really hear the word for themselves and often take in only someone else's perspective of the word and accept that prespective as gospel. 

Jesus reminded Martha when she became anxious and upset that simply listening to him and talking with him is a good thing to do first - an important thing, a necessary thing - and that perhaps a simple meal with good conversation might be better than a fancy meal with anger and or being upset.  We too need to be reminded that God’s provision is daily, not all at once.  We cannot store up on provision and then disconnect or stop communications with God.  Therefore Folks, we dare not be self-satisfied.  May I suggest if you feel you are running low on strength to face life and its challenges, ask yourself this question?  “How long have I been away from the source”?   Your relationship to God is moment by moment, not day by day or week by week as many of us unknowingly try to make it.   If you have been overcome with life’s circumstances, anger, frustration, sickness or unforgiveness be it a family or personal issue, stop; take a time out and communicated with God in prayer.   Prayer will lower your blood pressure, ease, balance and calm your soul. Something is always happening when we pray, even if we do not feel it or  see God's handy work at the moment.  Jesus teaches us how to get into lineament with God's amazing grace,  so we can access the awareness of manifested prayer even is it is a no to a specific plea, don't give up hope because something good is always happening somewhere. 

"JESUS TEACHES US HOW TO PRAY"

Today's gospel reading continues by showing Jesus a few days later - at prayer.   When he is finished praying, one of his disciples says to him: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples to pray."  Jesus gives them and us a formula to begin our prayers.   Some years ago somebody developed this little reminder of how to pray.  It was coined, Praying the ACTS.    The letter A stands for Adoration, C for Confession, T for Thanksgiving, and the S is for Supplication.    This formula comes to us out of the common prayer Jesus taught, we heard its beginnings this passage this morning.  Our Father in Heaven, hollowed be thy name.  Prayer should start with Adoration:   You can use words such as: Oh Great and Merciful God, creator of all that I am and will ever be,   In other words let your heart speak words of praise to your God, lift up His holy presence.   The words are not as important as your honest enthusiasm for a loving and merciful God, for the great things that he has done.  Does a hymn come to mind here?  "Oh Come to the Father great things He has Done."   Look up expressions of Adoration in the Psalms there are lots of expressions in the poetry and music found there.  Make notes of things you read.  How many here Journal?  If you keep a record of your personal pleas, I promise you, later on you will see the good and how your prayer was answered.   

Next we have CONFESSION:   Then Jesus says, acknowledge your sin, using these words  “And forgive our sins as we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us”.   This moment of confession is the corner stone of all prayer.  If I have not forgiven those who trespassed against me, no matter who, what or why, how then can I pray asking God to do for me that which I have not done for others?  In other words we break the great commandment which instructs us to do for our neighbour as we have done for ourselves.

Jesus has already sealed my forgiveness with his act of unconditional love.  All I have to do is accept it.  If that were not so his love and forgiveness would have conditions.   Let me illustrate this act of forgiveness using a metaphor.  Jesus from the cross, offers to take our cloak of sins, which by the way would include acts of hate, rage, murder, jealously, greed, selfishness etc.   He takes these sins unto himself and in exchange, offers us his cloak of righteousness.   This can only be done with the attribute of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.  If we accept his cloak, that is how He will present us to God.  Not in our sinfulness, but in his righteousness.   We are no longer held in bondage by our dirty old rag of sinfulness, but we are awash in His love and forgiveness, dressed in the garment of his righteousness.   Understanding this act of grace, we can go into the next phase of prayer with thanksgiving in our heart.

THANKSGIVING:   Here is where you get to say thank you God for all that you have done for me, for food,shelter, work, family, friends, life whatever comes into your thankful heart and mind.  {let us keep in mind here for many in our world who pray food, shelter, work, life, etc. may be meager compared to yours, but the thanksgiving is the same.} Say it from the heart with honest enthusiasm letting Him know how appreciative you really are for whatever you have.  It delights God to hear your words of gratitude, thanks and praise and all the Saints of heaven cheer you on.   The last stage of the ACTS prayer is supplication. 

SUPPLICATION:  Supplication is the final component, and this means praying not only for your needs but also for the needs of others.  Pray for your friends, family, your pastor, missionaries, government leaders, and persecuted persons around the world.  Don't forget to include you as we are all in need.  You may want to pray for such things as God's guidance, wisdom, and opportunities to serve, you may ask for anything in my name Jesus tells us and something will happen.  

Unfortunately there are many who still think of God as a kind of santa clause figure, where you give him your wish list and he fills it.   Here, generally the first three stages of entering into pray are missed.  Often we go right to the asking stage, without taking the proper time to tune in.  I have often used the metaphor of a musical instrument to illustrate this point.  If I don’t take time to check the tuning of my instrument before I begin to play, I will make noise, not music, and no one will make any sense of what I am attempting.   Same with prayer, if we don’t take time to tune in for prayer, our prayer will be nothing more than a noisy gong.  Everything in the Universe has an alignment process, where things must be aligned as they should.  I believe that Jesus is telling us a formula for alignment here, something we can follow when we want to communicate with God.   

I would like to debunk 5 of the most common reason why people say they just cannot pray. 

1.   Those who feel not good enough to approach God.   Don’t you know that none or us are good enough, and it is probably the best reason why we need to pray.  On our own we will never be good enough, we all need God by our side.   

2.   God has more important things than me to take care for.   If you believe you are a part of His creation and that He knew you before you entered the womb He is your real Mother, your real Father and your God.  Nothing in this world is more important to Him than His child.  No matter how old you are, or what you have or have not done, you are his child. 3.  I should not ask or pray for myself, it selfish, I should pray for others.    If I have  never prayed for own deliverance, healing, or peace of mind so I can experienced his hand of mercy on me, how can I assure others that prayer works?         

4.  I prayed, once should be enough.   The scriptures debunk this theory by telling us over and over again to pray without ceasing.  One gesture of gratitude is not enough to fill the cup for ever, one thank you is not sufficient.   As you drink the good drink you will need to refill the cup moment by moment, day by day.   

5.  I don’t know what to ask for, I am afraid that I will ask for the wrong thing.    Prayer is not meant for asking, prayer is meant as a means to communicating with God.   Speak openly with your God show Him worship and praise, tell Him your sin and accept His forgiveness, then shower Him with gratitude and speak of your needs for yourself and for others.  Do it as many times a day as you feel the need.   He will help you rise us up out of your circumstances and will supply you with your true needs for living spiritually.  Isn’t God GREAT!!!   Take a time out to pray. 

"The Devil Made Me Do It"

Allowing yourself just to be who you are, is often very difficult in our western culture.  The pressure to improve your image is constant.  The enticement of social media, facebook, twitter, linkedin and by advertisements to conform, project an image, look slimmer, smarter, or to find that perfect job or mate is overpowering at times.   Often we feel the pressure, placed on us by our peers, family or colleagues to maintain the status quo; accept certain old out dated traditions or conform to group opinion.    Question: When you were growing up did anyone ever coach you into doing something that you didn’t want to do?  What was the result?  2.   Have you ever compromised your own principals to satisfy someone else or the status quo?   Do you remember how that made you feel?

Readings: Psalm 52 Colossians 1: 15-28  Luke 10: 38-42

The story we heard about Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke this morning is often our story is it not?   Who is right and who is wrong in this situation comes to mind?   I knew a young boy who, when chores had to be done, instantly he would make his way to the wash room for a time.  Sound familiar?  Chores are not always seen as fun things to do.

Others might see Martha as overbearing and bossy, wanting to control the situation by laying a guilt tip on Mary.  You know the old saying; Idle hands makes for the devils workshop.  Martha seems to think Mary should know her place.   What’s wrong with you girl, don’t you understand our obligations here.?  A question to think about here folks might be this:  Is there really a right and wrong here or, is it all about choices? 

 I suppose that if I were to ask all of the ladies or gentlemen here today if these statements sound familiar, I would get a nod or two.    Martha gets so frustrated that she asks Jesus to settle the matter.  But, Jesus doesn't help at all and gives her an answer she is not really looking for.   Mary has chosen what is best for Mary.   How often do you compromise yourself and do not do what is best for you?  May I suggest that it is because you do not know yourself well enough yet.

Folks, I going to challenge you this morning asking you to examine your choices for coming to church today or why you are taking time out to read my blog.   We all come well aware that we are going to spend time with Jesus RIGHT!   

We all come to talk with God and to open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit, to learn something new about ourselves from the wisdom of the text RIGHT!   
We all come to unload our burdens and recharge our batteries for the weekly battle. Right!   Well, unconsciously this might not be the case with all of us.   Some may have come strictly out of tradition.  Others come out of duty, it is something we have always done.  Some may have come out of curiosity, just to see what I am going to say, sing or do next. How many of us come like Martha, finding it hard to take a time out of our buy day for Jesus.  Find it hard to give our full attention to God and His word.  Many of us come with unfinished business on our minds, often pre-occupied with things to do the minute we leave the building.   I think many of us are programmed to ONLY FEEL WORTHY when we are busy doing.    Regardless of the reasons why we came, I am glad you came because I believe God wants us all to learn something about ourselves from this story.

I believe the story or Mary and Martha is not about who is right or who is wrong,  worthy or unworthy, nor is it about obligation.  I think Jesus is offering us a deeper meaning here and it is all about our choices.  In examining our choices in life, we can be enlightened and get to know our true self much better.      

I have said this before and I will state it again this morning, one of the hardest things I have ever to do is to be up front honest and truthful with myself.   If I cannot be true to me, about who I am, about my needs, my hopes, my past, my dreams how can I be truthful with others?  Being truthful to self is no easy task folks, especially if you do not have the wisdom of knowing and accepting your strengths and your weaknesses.  Being truthful will cause you to look deep within which helps you to choose what is best for you.  Jesus tells Martha, Mary has chosen and because it is right for Mary, here choice will not be taken from her.    

Often we choose what we think we want or need, only to be disappointed.  But, whatever the choice, it should be fruitful, and the fruit of our choices gives us an opportunity to get to know ourselves better.   Choices were not meant to destroy my life or my relationships with others but should begin to tell me something about who I am, and what is right or wrong for me.  Please note I said for ME here.  I may want to point out right from wrong for others but my true need is to find out what is right and wrong for ME.  We need to let others be, so they too can work it out for themselves.  Sometimes we choose to please others because we don’t want to cause a fuss nor do we want to be seen as a disappointment to family or friends.  Other times it is because we don’t want to be misunderstood as being selfish.  Then there are those among us who just cannot hand out an appropriate no, or even an appropriate yes.  I do believe that is because we are not fully aware of our true self.    We are instructed by Jesus to love ourselves so we can offer the same to a neighbor.  In the parable of the wheat and weeds, Jesus teaches us about judging others.  In Matthew 13: 24 -30 the field workers are instructed not to pull up weeds that were planted among the wheat less they pull up some wheat by mistake, suggesting that we do not have the wisdom or authority nor the understanding to distinguish who is right, who is wrong, who is bad or who is good.   We are to see the choices we and others make as learning curves that teach us more truth about who we really are and what we have or have not learned from our experience.   Folks it is all about choices.  

So then, Mary has made a courageous choice for herself here.  It wasn't the traditional one and many would disagree with her through some form of assumption or judgement.  But because of her “COURAGE” to go against the status quo and spend time with Jesus she will begin to get to know herself better. 

In both cases neither is right or wrong.  One sister is struggling with this situation more than the other, because Martha insists she knows what is right for Mary, she breaks one of the cardinal rules of self-awareness.  You can never really live your life fully through another, nor can you change anyone except yourself.    In fact the only YOU, you really need is you, and the only person you should change, is YOU.   As crazy as it may sound IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU! 

Any person who doesn’t understand this teaching, will always want to control and change others.  It’s a given folks.  Jesus understood this truth and when we choose it, it will not be taken from us either. 

We have a struggle when it comes to letting the other person find and fill their own need, letting the other person just be who they are.  Every persons needs are personal and if they go unfulfilled, their lives becomes boring dependent.   If you look closer you will see that the real problem lies within the person who is trying to control everything as was Martha.  Look closely and you will see that one of her struggles is, her inability to accept herself as she is, not as the servant she truly wants to be.   You see Mary recognizes her need, and she is willing to go for it, regardless of the results, be they a positive or negative learning.  The fact that Jesus commends her, this should tell us something about her choice.  You see it is not about who’s right here it is about knowing yourself and testing the waters of your own needs.  It’s about having the courage to say an appropriate no, or yes, even if it goes against the status quo.  It’s all about learning about yourself first, then, you will begin to understand others.  If you do not know and understand yourself well, you will never know or understand others well either.  We need to be reminded often, of this deeper wisdom teaching.     Love yourself just as you are. 

"Sorry Gents but God isn't Male"

                                   

 John Calvin, writes in his book “Institutes of the Christian Religion Book I, and I quote “For though the divine glory is displayed in man’s outward appearance, it cannot be doubted that the proper image of God can only be found in Spirit.”   In Calvin’s eyes we were created man and women, yet God is Spirit and we are one in Spirit with God. 

In Galatians 3:28 We hear the Apostle Paul stating:    There is neither Jew nor Gentile, 
neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ 
Jesus. We are of one mind, body and one spirit.  When discussing man being made in the 
image and likeness of God we need to understand Genesis 1:26 -27 {Good News} Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic andwild, large and small.”  So God created human beings, making them to be like himself.  He created them male and female.  

May I suggest we need to comprehend just how important a good understanding of this truth is. We need to have a  clear understanding that both male and female, were made equally and made to be like God.   Equality here does not mean that our bodies would be equal in proportion, nor does it mean that our physical strength would be equal for we were made to be different each with special qualities.  What it does mean is that all aspects of our spirit are the same and they are equal in every way.  Our human orientation {sexuality, race, or color } has no place in this equality.   In order to be like God and in the image of God we would need to have within our human physical bodies something of God.  That something is our spirit, something that is equal in all aspects of equality and is eternal. I believe that is what the writer meant when he says we are made in the image and likeness of God.  The continual use of a male reference within the scriptures makes it far to easy for men to discount the female as somehow inferior.  The use of the Parental name Father was never meant for that purpose.  This interpretation of the scriptures has been a problem over the centuries and continues to be in many modern day religious teachings, Christianity included.    Sorry gentlemen but God is not a man.  Sorry ladies but God is not a woman either.   Therefore God being neither male nor female but SPIRIT, God then can represent for us an all-encompassing parent, from whom we have inherited our Parent attributes which include love, forgiveness, humility, compassion, peace, joy, justice and hope.  All these inherit attributes need cultivation. That is why we were given the word both in print and in flesh which in turn develops gratitude.  Gratitude becomes the soil which cultivates faith.  We were made human, but with a Spirit in likeness and in the image of God’s all-encompassing love.   This is what makes you so precious in God’s eyes.  Here is why I believe God will never for sake or leave you.  It is because of your spirit, which is the God factor in you.   If this were not so, how then could the Spirit in you fulfil the great commandment to love its neighbor as itself?   Who is your spirits neighbor?  Your humanness, your human nature and your physical body.  Your spirit wants you to love and respect it just as the Spirit loves itself "the God in you" Without the Spirits attribute of humility, you would not have the power or the strength to love your human nature and your physical self without falling prey to EGO.  Folks do things to build up the Spirit in you.  Jesus said in John 4:24  “God is Spirit,”  . Throughout the Old Testament, the Spirit of 
God repeatedly appears, beginning in Genesis 1:2  and let us be clear it does not say He or 

She hovered over the waters, it states The "Spirit" of God hovered over the waters.  
The Spirit that give life is ignited in ordinary people, anointing them to act as God’s voice, to 
speak out for injustice among the poor and marginalized.  To act as God’s hands as we 
serve one another with love and compassion and to act as God’s feet as we spread his 
attributes all over our world.   We can hear this in 2 Samuel 23:2). and I quote “ The spirit 
of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue”.    Through God’s Spirit, 
the way is shown to us, the plans, purposes and desires of God are revealed to us, then 
through us to others. When God created humanity in Genesis 1:26-27, God set us apart as unique among all creation.  In doing so, he also gave us a spirit .  At conception we are given life, we do not know exactly how, as stated in Ecclesiastes 11:5.“ As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things.”   

 We are given a physical body, it comes with the gift of life and yet it cannot be the

 image of God, for it returns to the dust from which it was formed.  Yet we were created

 in Spirit and it is that which lives forever and returns to its source.  Again in Ecclesiastes

 12: 7 We hear “ and the dust returns to the ground it come from, and the spirit

 returns to God who gave it”   We are spiritual beings temporally housed in an earthly

 body.   We were given an eternal spirit that will never die.  Thanks be to God.   

Here is what can happen if God's Spirit gets ignited in you!

Take time to Pray!