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Aloha Friday Message – January 27, 2023 – The Discipline of Discipleship

January 27, 2023

2304AFC012723 – The Discipline of Discipleship

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Zephaniah 2:3 – ³Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.

Psalm 146:1 – ¹Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!

1 Corinthians 1:29-31 – ²⁹This means that no one can boast in God’s presence. ³⁰But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free. ³¹So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.” (See Jeremiah 9:24) Good News Translation (GNT) Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society.

Matthew 5:3 – ³“Blessed are the poor in spirit *, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. → * [5:3] The poor in spirit: in the Old Testament, the poor (’anāwîm) עֲנָוִ֣ים anawim They are those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God alone. They are the meek and lowly, the downtrodden and marginalized, the persecuted and neglected, the ones held in lowest esteem by all including themselves but without boasting about it. (See Key Verse from 1 Corinthians 1:29 above) (↔ Click Link)

E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) I am bringing in a couple of Guest Authors to get things started today. The first is from one of the Church Fathers, St. Jerome.

St Jerome ~~ “Do you dread poverty? Christ calls the poor blessed. Does toil frighten you? No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. Are you anxious as regards food? Faith fears no famine. Do you dread the bare ground for limbs wasted with fasting? The Lord lies there beside you. Do you recoil from an unwashed head and uncombed hair? Christ is your true head. Does the boundless solitude of the desert terrify you? In the Spirit you may walk always in paradise. Simply turn your thoughts there and you will no more be in the desert. Is your skin rough and scaly because you no longer bathe? He who is once washed in Christ does not need to wash again. To all your objections the apostle gives this one brief answer: ‘The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory’ which shall come after them, ‘which shall be revealed in us.’ You are too greedy of enjoyment, my brother, if you wish to rejoice with the world here, and to reign with Christ hereafter.” (See Romans 8:18)

Psalm 22:26 – ²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

Pause with me for just a few moments so we can try thinking about God – the Almighty Everliving Omnibenificent Creator. Let’s begin with this quote from another Church Father:
“Our very incapacity of fully grasping Him affords us the idea of what He really is. He is presented to our minds in His transcendent greatness, as at once known and unknown. And this is the crowning guilt of men, that they will not recognize One of whom they cannot possibly be ignorant.” ~~ Tertullian

A few years ago I sent you this image, and it captures the idea in this quote. I share it with you again, and ask you to please reflect on what you see.

For this wonderful picture (used with permission from the artist):
Art created by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992, 2002. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://revelationillustrated.com . Contact us and let us know which one you need to use. If you wish to use more than one, you should purchase the 40 image CD .You will also be required to add a right-click copy protection code to each image. For use as wallpaper on your computer, just let us know which one you need. For use as a screensaver, please go here where you can get information on the new “Revelation Illustrated” screensaver program.
Pat Marvenko Smith
Revelation Productions http://www.revelationillustrated.com/
THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED SO RESPECT THE ARTIST’S WISHES. ~~ CT3

We want to get to Heaven, but cling to what we have on earth. We want to be called “good and faithful servants,” but we lack the will to truly serve. We pray for forgiveness, but keep on sinning anyway. We say we want to be like Jesus, but end up pretending Jesus is like us. Jesus is like us in all ways EXCEPT SIN. We want to be God’s children, and we are through baptism, but we fail to behave as God’s children. When we do so, we fret against that discipline. “NO! I DO IT MYSELF!” Here is some sage advice from another Church Father who was loved enough be Jesus to be personally called as an Apostle:

Hebrews 12:4-8 – ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children —
“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
or lose heart when you are punished by him;
⁶for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
and chastises every child whom he accepts.”
⁷Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? ⁸If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate* and not his children.

*If you follow that link you’ll see that in other translations, The Apostle Paul calls the adelphos who will not accept Christ’s discipline bastards. That’s some pretty strong language! Remember that The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee and was quoting from Proverbs 3:11-12. Also remember, in his day there was no New Testament – he was writing it as he traveled – and when he spoke or wrote to the churches he had founded, his thought were based on his extensive education as a scholar of Scripture – including what he learned from Jesus himself and from the other Apostles and Disciples of Jesus. Sometimes, I believe, we also wish to be Disciples while hoping to avoid the price of Discipleship: Discipline that brings us humility.

The Apostle Paul had learned discipline all his life – not learned about it, but learned by experiencing it. After his calling on the road to Damascus, he endured great suffering for the sake of the Gospel. He was beaten with rods, scourged and whipped, stoned and left for dead. He toiled with his hands day and night in his trade of tent-maker. Still, he never stopped preaching the Gospel. There is a good reason for that: he believed what he taught because he was humbled by the discipline it took to teach it. We might wonder if he had heard the account Mount and the Beatitudes.

In the list of The Beatitudes, (or the Be-Attitudes) the first among them is Humility – the exact opposite of the foundation of sin – Pride. There is not one among us who would not deeply desire to have Jesus answer the prayer saying “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto your heart.” No matter how deep and genuine our desire, despite our greatest yearnings to emulate his life, we always “fall short of the glory of God.” (See Romans 3:23) We rightfully decide on being humble, but predictability rarely make it. Nonetheless “We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.” (↔ Music Link). It’s hard to be humble enough, often but not always, to do that. Back in 1974 a fella by the name of Mac Davis released a song called “It’s Hard To Be Humble.” It was a novelty song, and really kind of fun because we all find it hard to be humble when it comes right down to it. (You can check that out here.) (↔ Music Link) Most of us would agree that it is better to be humble than to be humiliated. Humility and humbleness are not highly valued in our competitive, phony-baloney society. As kids we learned it is important to “Stand up for yourself,” and to “be proud of who you are and where you come from.” “Don’t let anyone put you down. Hold your head up high and take pride in your work.” I found a few interesting old sayings about servants (↔ Click Link) .

If we do desire to be Disciples, we must accept the discipline that comes along with that goal. Part of that discipline is fearlessly accepting that it will be a rough road. Go look at Mark 10:30 and Acts 14:22. Jesus himself told us we would suffer because of his Name. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (See Matthew 5:11-12)

How can anyone live like that and not be profoundly depressed?!? As we have learned to expect, the Holy Spirit has prompted The Apostle Paul to give us the answer which we find in Philippians 4:4-8 – ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. You may remember GIGO – Gospel In, Gospel Out. When we live like that, being a Disciple is so very rewarding that we don’t notice how “meek and lowly, the downtrodden and marginalized, how persecuted and neglected, and among those held in lowest esteem by all.” “If God is all you have left, you have all you need.” It is Only In God (↔ Music Link) that we find our rest, our Hope, our greatest Love. If you, if I, if WE can just cool our jets long enough to honor the Giver by accepting the Gift, we’ll be embraced in the Peace surpassing understanding and move forward toward Heaven.

Therein we find the will, the ability, and the strength to rest in God’s hand as his Disciple because in, by, and through his discipline we give delight to the Lord.

Proverbs 3:11-12 – ¹¹My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
¹²for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.

As our dear friend in heaven, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Do small things with great Love.” There’ a wise adage stating “Take care of the small stuff and all the rest will fall into place.” I usually chuckle about that because it reminds me of this riddle – Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. Q: How do we get to Heaven? A: One humble step at a time. Q: How do we learn to be humble? A: ⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (See Proverbs 3:5-6) and furthermore, you will end up singing and dancing and shouting
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!

In other words seek righteousness, seek humility. That’s one of the Core Principles in the Absolutely Perfect Plan. Check out your Study Guide (the B.I.B.L.E.) for additional principles on the Discipline of Discipleship. You will find a passage marked with this bookmark, a gift from El Shaddai-Olam:

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages

Aloha Friday Message – January 20, 2023 – Take a Look at the Good Book

January 20, 2023

2303AFC012023 – Take a Look at the Good Book

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A pile of keys outside an antique shop in Eton.

Psalm 27:13-14 – ¹³I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
¹⁴Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Isaiah 9:2 – ²The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.

1 Corinthians 1:10 – oon ¹⁰Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.

Matthew 4:17 – ¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Belovéd, I urge you to follow that link to see this passage in context in The Good Book. There is a demonstration of the fulfillment of the prophecy in the passage from Isaiah.)

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. Belovéd, this coming Sunday is the Third Sunday in ordinary time. In 2019, Pope Francis published an Apostolic Letter Motu proprio (under his own authority) titled “Aperuit illis”. The title, as is customary with such works, is based on the first two words in Latin of the Letter’s words “He opened.” Pope Francis opens with the words from the story The Road to Emaus wherein we read “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” (Luke 24:45-48) and in this Apostolic Letter, he established the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as Word of God Sunday. It is Pope Francis’ intention that all believers have abundant opportunities to expand their knowledge and application of Scripture. We are encouraged to do so in addition to Mass.

Scripture is used extensively in the Mass which begins with a passage of Scripture used as the Entrance Antiphon. Then there are several more readings – Old Testament, a Responsorial Psalm or Canticle, a reading from the Epistles, an Alleluia verse before the Gospel reading, a specified reading from one of the Gospels, a rite based on Luke 7:6-7 during the Eucharistic Prayer (Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof), and a communion antiphon. That’s 10 Scripture passages in each Sunday Mass. In weekday masses there is generally one passage fewer. Over the course of a three-year cycle, about 90% of everything in all 73 books of the Bible is heard during Mass. Pope Francis wants us to hear more, to learn more, to understand more, and to use the Written Word of God to help us to understand better and to Love better the Living Word of God, his only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ of God. You can read the full text of the Pope’s letter here. (↔ Click Link)

Let’s continue looking into the Good Book with the entire Church and consider the Key Verse from Psalms. The Psalmist says he doesn’t have to die to see the goodness of the Lord. He can see that goodness in his own life. God will continue to bless him in due course as he waits in joyful hope for the Presence of God to deliver him from the enemies surrounding him. They seek to discredit him, but he knows that God will always take up his cause and put down his enemies. We, too, can now that God is our Light and our salvation (Psalm 27:1) and that he will never abandon us even if our own family turns against us. The radiant hope we have in God is because of his steadfast love and forgiveness. We know this Hope when we “seek the face of the Lord.” (Psalm 27:8) He will not forsake us when we sustain our lives with prayer and Love. The Psalmist exhorts his “weaker self” – the part of his heart (and ours!) that doubts – with the strength of his Faith in God, and therein comes the Victory.

In the passage from Isaiah, we also see that bright Hope. Though born into a world of darkness, we who hope and trust in the Lord will be filled with the Light of his Love. When our own personal actions in the darkness of sin turn us away from that Light, he continues to reach out to us, to direct and protect us, and when we turn back to him with all our hearts (↔ Music Link), we rejoice greatly because the yoke of sin has been removed from us if we have repented and believed the Gospel. It is one of the most beautifully mysterious aspects of God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan – his Love is everlasting (↔ Music Link). We also know that at the end of our lives we will join in Divine Worship before God’s Throne as we await the return of Christ and then the Resurrection. Indeed, his mercy endures forever. He created us to Love him because he Loved us enough to create us. Isn’t that just astounding? Oh! What a GOOD God we have! We gratefully acknowledge that his first choice was to give us Apostles, men who would share the words of the Living Word everywhere they went. (See 1 Corinthians 12:28 from last week again)

The Apostle Paul wrote our Key Verse from the Epistles in his first letter to the Corinthians which we are using today. As the Apostle to the Gentiles, his message consistently urged everyone in the churches founded by the Apostles and first Missionaries to be of one mind, to avoid divisions over pointless arguments, and to stay true to the Gospel which all the Apostles spoke with the authority Christ had given them in the Cenacle. One additional example of The Apostle Paul’s teaching on this is in Ephesians 4:1-6 – ¹ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body (↔ Music Link) and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. This is another dimension of the APP – it is so thoroughly consistent from beginning to end – that’s why it is THE Absolutely Perfect Plan! Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand! Hallelujah!

That’s what Jesus tells us in our Key Verse from the Gospel. He repeatedly told people the Kingdom was near. It is such a simple thing for our complex minds. “Where is this ‘Kingdom’? Where are its boundaries, and what is its geography?” The Kingdom of God is not a thing, not a place. It is a “he.” It is the Presence of God among us, in our hearts and in our minds. The Law is fulfilled in Jesus and we who are in Jesus are freed by his sacrifice (See Romans 6, especially v. 14). Do you recall what Moses told God’s people about the Law God delivered to their doorstep? In Deuteronomy 30:11-14 he said– ¹⁴No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe. They were to keep the Law in the front of their hearts and minds at all times. As we know, they often failed at that, and so God gave them Judges (strong military leaders) and Prophets to remind them. In the passage of 1 Corinthians 12:28, do you recall what the second Spiritual gift was? “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, …” Flashback to Moses again in Numbers 11:29b – “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” Through Christ Jesus we have become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people – in him we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. (See 1 Peter 2:9) The Kingdom was and is, and will always be the Word who was there from “In The Beginning” and will return to us “At The End.” How do we know? (↔ Music Link) The B.I.B.L.E. tells us so! Why? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – ¹⁶All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

When I was growing up, nearly all non-Catholic Christians had their own Bible which they carried to Sunday School, Church, and Prayer Meetings. I still have several of the Bibles I have owned over the years. My latest is the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible. I keep it right next to my workstation and use it often even though I also have access to online Bibles and multiple digital versions. It is no exaggeration for me to say “I love my Bible!” With equal intensity, I also enjoy sharing it – especially with you, Belovéd. I usually don’t put any ads in my posts, but I would like to mention for your benefit a couple of resources you might enjoy. They are available “for free” from Ascension Press and feature podcast episodes by Fr. Mike Schmitz. You may have seen him on the Internet or social media. He’s a great speaker who covers a lot of material in a short time thanks to his rapid-fire speech. There are two year-long podcasts series he has on file. The fist one was The Bible in A Year (↔ Click Link). It’s always online, always available, always “free” – and I put that in quotes because they do ask for support financially and spiritually – and I can attest that the episodes are edifying and enlightening. The second is in the same format and it is called The Catechism in A Year (↔ Click Link). I’m currently listening to that one. You can use whatever device and/or service you use for other podcasts (e.g., Apple or Spotify). There are many available resources provided for a price from Ascension. There are social media groups in the most-popular formats. There are notebooks, indexing tabs, bookmark ribbons, supporting study notes, and rock-solid teaching on the content of the catechism and its applications in our lives. “Try it. You’ll like it.” Here’s a sample from The Bible In A Year– a bit longer than most – so you can get some sense of how exciting this is. This is about the first Council of the Church before any of the New Testament was written. Listen for the names of the men among the first Missionaries were also Prophets. As St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” If you or anyone you know has ever thought “Nah, I don’t need the Scriptures. I hear enough in church,” then you are, in effect saying, “Nah, I don’t need Christ. I’m good without all that.” Like my grandma used to say, “Come over. We’ll talk.”

Belovéd, you are my Belovéd, and I am praying for you every day! Please make the Bible part of your day every single day. There are periodicals for devotionals as well as hundreds of online resources. I encourage you to go to Google Play or the APP store and find the APP Laudate. There are so many Bible applications, too. Bible Gateway is the one I use for these posts. Let me close with just this: We all need to be listening to the Word of God every day because it is his Word, his Voice. If we’re not listening, it is possible to miss that voice behind you saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.” (That’s Isaiah 30:21 again) We’re walking this long stretch of the Road Home together, and while we listen to each other, we most certainly need to listen to him all the more. Take a good look at the Good Book, good pilgrims. It is indeed our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, History, Links, MUSIC!, Podcast, Prayer Requests, Reptentance, THE APP
Tags: Art, For sharing, Multiple Scripture references on topic, Prayer Request, REPENTANCE, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – January 13, 2023 – The Word of Love and the Prophets

January 13, 2023

2303AFC011323 – The Word of Love and the Prophets

Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

Isaiah 49:1-6 –

¹ Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
²He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
³And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
⁴But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.”

⁵And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Psalm 40:8-9 – ⁸I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:3 – ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:29-31 – ²⁹The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Today’s greeting is paraphrased from our Key Verse from the Epistles, 1 Corinthians 1:3 and includes the miraculous manifestation of the Holy Trinity at the moment of Jesus’ baptism as we read in Matthew 3:14- 17 – ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” For every earthling – past, present, or future – that moment was like a spiritual supernova! It almost carries as much weight as Genesis 1:3 – ³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And the Word was the Light.

We can remember that in John 1:1-5 – ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The Light of the World is Jesus (↔ Music Link), the First, the Last, the Always Living Word of God. In the beginning there was only a formless void … and God! God’s Spirit moved over that void like a mighty wind tearing through the darkness. Then God spoke the Word as Light. There, in that moment, we see the Love of God who is the Lover of Creation, we see the Word of God who is the Belovéd of Creation, and the Relationship of the Community of Love as the Spirit of God, the Lord, the Giver of Life.

Then, the Lover of all Creation took a wad of clay from what he had created and formed it into Adam, the Man of God, so that God and Adam could love one another as Lover and Belovéd. This was because God had created Adam in his own image and likeness. God placed the man in Paradise and gave him wonderful gifts of plants, and creatures of the earth, the sea, and the sky. He made us for and out of Love which he deemed we would share with him. In my heart I hear a poem by James Weldon Johnson called “The Creation.” I memorized it in high school because it was so remarkable. It was from a slim volume of prayers and poetry called God’s Trombones [1](↔ Learning Link). It was quite a bit longer than works my classmates had memorized, and I loved sharing it because it spoke to the deepest parts of my heart. To this day it still give me goosebumps. It starts out with God saying “I’m lonely – I’ll make me a world.” It ends with this declaration:

“Then into it he blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.”

He made us for and out of Love which he deemed we would share with him, and right from The Beginning, he made it possible for us to share his Love instead of merely receiving his Love. He allowed us to choose to return the love he had given to us. To top it all off, he created Eve from Adam so that Adam could Love Eve just as God Loved (↔ Music Link) both of them – expecting them to Love him even as he had loved (↔ Learning Link). God’s Gift of Love manifested his Perfect Integrity, Endless, Mercy, Everlasting Love, and Eternal Salvation through Christ our Lord. They were perfect for and in him as well as in and for each other – but they forgot about the pureness and completeness of God’s Love and decided to choose a love of their own in place of choosing to Love him. This poor decision cost them their place in Paradise – temporarily. It also cost them the ease with which they cared for the earth and its creatures. Eventually this first sin against the Love of God led to poverty, slavery, and oppression. In Genesis 3:15 (↔ Important Learning Link), God prophesied to Eve that he would provide a remedy for sin and the death it brought. In the Preface III for Mass in Ordinary Time we hear, “you [God] came to the aid of mortal beings with your divinity and even fashioned for us a remedy out of mortality itself, that the cause of our downfall might become the means of our salvation, through Christ our Lord.” The choices made by subsequent generations became more and more evil. God chose one man and his family to continue the race of earthlings and the rest he destroyed in a flood. The covenant God made with Noah preserved all creatures and humans that had been created. Still, evil once again disrupted history when God found it necessary to scatter the Peoples at Babel.

Eventually God chose a wealthy and intelligent military strategist of great Faith, named אַבְרָם – Abram – to be the Father of Multitudes dedicated to God as his Chosen People, the Children of Abraham. Abraham received a blessing from Melchizedek, and a covenant of lands, a kingdom, and worldwide blessings. The Absolutely Perfect Plan was running according to schedule – because it is Absolutely Perfect! It started with “Let there be light,” and came to fulfillment in The Light to the Nations the Christ of God, the Second Adam

ALL of this is because of Love. God created us for Love, in Love, and with Love to be Loved by him. He is the source of everything we should be, everything we should have, everything we will need, and everything he Loves. He does not, however, Love sin because sin is death, and death puts an ending on immortality. Because he does not wish for any of us to die, he sent Prophets to us to tell us about the Absolutely Perfect Plan, and gave us examples of how humanity can dwell with God. Abraham was such a Prophet. Around 7,000 years after Noah’s covenant with God, Moses was called to tell God’s chosen people they were to be delivered from their enslavement in Egypt. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Moses tells the Israelites ¹⁵The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people; and at the end of that passage he says ^18b I will put my words in the mouth of the Prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. ¹⁹Anyone who does not heed the words that the Prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. We recently reviewed how The APP brings that prophecy to fulfillment in 2252AFC122322 – No Deposit. No Return. Here is an excerpt:

The test of a true Prophet is that what s/he says proves to be true. Prophets do not speak on their own, and their words are not their own opinion, guidance, or warning. They speak what the Holy Spirit tells them, and therefore what they say is True. In the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 13 & 15), we have accounts of certain prophets such as Agabus, Barnabas and Silas, Judas, and Lucius. Who is prophesying today? I don’t think we really know, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit continues to work with men and women to convey to the World how God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan is unfolding, little by little, and helping to draw us closer to the words of the Angels spoken in Acts 1:11 to the Apostles at Jesus’ Ascension: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here^] looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven^] will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.” (New English Translation (NET) NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

Jesus is our Light because he is a Light to the Nations. He is with us until the end of the Age. The authority of his Voice is heard throughout Scripture – yes, including the old testament – because , as it says in 2 Timothey 3:16-17 – ¹⁶All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. The Word became flesh and lived with us; he is alive in Scripture as well. That is why each of us can say –
⁸I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] Johnson, James Weldon, God’s Trombones, New York NY. Viking Press. 1927 pp 17-19 please follow the link and read this remarkable and important book

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, Links, MUSIC!, Prayer Requests, Reptentance, THE APP
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, For sharing, Music, Prayer Request, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – January 6, 2023 – I dreamed a dream …

January 6, 2023

2301AFC010623 – I dreamed a dream …

Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

Isaiah 60:2 – ²For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.

Psalm 72:11 –
¹¹May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

Ephesians 3:5-6 – ⁵In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: ⁶that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Matthew 2:12 – ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is also called the Feast of the Theophany, Three Kings Day, and the Twelfth Day of Christmas. It commemorates the manifestation – the arrival, the coming, the showing forth, the discovery – of Jesus by and for the Gentiles. In this showing forth – especially in the term Theophany – The Magi represent the Gentiles, all the non-Hebraic nations of the world. That word in Greek is Θεοφάνεια – Theo for God and phaneia for shown forth.

In the biblical account found only in the Gospel of Matthew, the number of visitors from the east is not given. We assume it was three because of the gifts mentioned – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because of the expensiveness of the gifts, readers of Matthew’s Gospel thought perhaps the visitors must have “kingly wealth,” hence, “we Three Kings.” Isaiah and David had both predicted that the Messiah would be worshiped by kings from across the world (Isaiah 60:3 and Psalm 68:29 for example), and so even though there was no evidence for the visitors to be kings –they are referred to only as Magi which is the plural for the Greek word magos μάγος, who were priests of Zoroaster (a/k/a “Zarathustra” as in “Thus Spake Zarathustra”). Zoroastrianism was an ancient religion associated with astrology, magic, and fortune telling – a sorcerer. One such famous sorcerer was the Samaritan, Simon Magus – “Simon the Sorcerer” – who was a convert to Christianity thanks to the ministrations of the Apostle Philip, even though he tried to “buy” the Anointing of the Holy Spirit (Read the eighth chapter of Acts). A further bit of information we often overlook in the Nativity Scene is that Matthew says the magi followed the star to a house, but says nothing about a stable, shepherds, a manger, or even of Joseph. (Matthew 2:9-11).

An epiphany is a showing forth, or shining forth. It modern times it has come to mean a sudden realization that puts everything into perspective – a paradigm shift where our understanding is “suddenly” brighter and clearer. I put that “suddenly” in quotes, because generally an epiphany comes about after much laborious thinking and working. Those “A-HA” moments are rare, but they are usually preceded by intense effort even if the moment of understanding seems to come effortlessly. Famous “epiphanies” in recent history might include Isaac Newton and Arthur Fry (he invented Post-It Notes), and there have been a few in politics recently which we will not mention today. The basic idea is that genuine innovation comes through inspired thinking based on hard work. They are wonderful experiences whether we feel them ourselves, or watch others “see the light go on.” That experience is the Central Joy of Teaching! I think about that when I read our Key Verse passage from Isaiah – the entire world in darkness, then suddenly A GREAT LIGHT – the Hope of Israel, and now the Hope of all earthlings.

For Christians, Epiphany is the commemoration not so much of the visit by the magi, but the fact that Jesus is revealed to the whole world – Jew and gentile, rich and poor, righteous and sinner, young and old, and whatever other earthling set of opposites you can think up. He came here for every single soul on earth before or after his birth so we can be sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. All of us can turn our eyes toward Jesus and see God with us – Emanuel. That always gives me goose-bumps. God. With. Us. The Manifestation of The Christ. Born of a virgin in abject poverty in a tiny village outside Jerusalem, he grew up in obscure places in Egypt and Galilee, and was anointed with the Holy Spirit at about age 30 (we assume). A few years later he died a horrible death as a criminal falsely accused of sedition against Rome.

When Jesus entered into the world as that tiny baby on a cold night in a tiny village a few miles away from the capital of a nation once again under foreign domination, he carried with him a power of Grace so immense that it could actually redeem every soul that has now, has ever had, or will ever have been born of a woman and still there would be an immeasurable amount of that grace left over. The magi demonstrated that God sent that child for all the world to know and to love. It doesn’t really matter if they rode camels or donkeys, if there were three or two or even thirty of them. It doesn’t matter if they didn’t kneel around the manger. It doesn’t matter if we named them Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior. It might matter a little bit that the gifts were highly symbolic. Myrrh is an aromatic resin. It was used in preparing the dead for burial. Gold reveals that the baby born to a virgin and at someone’s house under a special star is actually a king. The frankincense tells us that the King the magi came to honor was none other than God incarnate. And the capper is that the myrrh tells us that he has come to die.

Myrrh means “bitterness.” It was used in perfumes for centuries, but it was also used for embalming a corpse, and as an antiseptic, as well as to reduce pain. Of the three gifts given to Jesus only myrrh is mentioned at the beginning of his Life as a gift from the magi and at the end of his life as a gift from a friend. “Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came [with Joseph of Arimathea], bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews” (John 19:39-40)

He was wrapped in swaddling clothes at birth, in a shroud at death. Never owned a place of his own. Had a simple tunic woven from top to bottom all in one piece, but little else other than the most basic items of clothing. We don’t know what happened to the gifts, but perhaps some of that came in handy on the way to, for a time in, and on the way back from Egypt. Maybe Mary had kept some of the myrrh and gave it to Nicodemus? No one knows what happened to any of the gifts except the True Gift. He came here to show us God (↔ Click Link) his Father. He came here to redeem us from everything that had gone wrong (↔ Click Link) in the world. He did all of this “even for us.” (“etiam pro nobis” in the Latin version of the Credo). Praying the Creed of Faith – The Apostolic Creed or Nicene Creed – is a way to be immersed in Jesus’ epiphany. (See contemporaneous concomitance by following that link)

Take the risk of finding your own epiphany. Make this phrase part of your personal statement of faith – your “this is mine” Credo – to say etiam pro me quoque. “Even for me also.” And you don’t have to bring some fancy treasure. Be like The Little Drummer Boy (↔ Music Link) and bring what you have – you. For your gift-wrap use a smile as the bow and your heart as the box. Jesus will look at your gift, and say something like “Oh, WOW! You brought that for ME?!?!? And you can tell him “Etiam tibi.” Even for you.

I sometimes ask you to use the Moon Beam Network Prayer (↔ Click Link). I do that because we are invited as intercessors to pray for, with, and about each other and the entire world (as in Psalm 72:11) The MBN Invitation reads, in part,

When we pray FOR each other, we act as intercessors, “in-the-place-of” praying. It’s making a prayer on behalf of someone else rather than on behalf of ourselves.
When we pray ABOUT each other, we’re making prayers that are intended to be blessings. We ask God for this favor or that outcome for one another. I might pray about your health or you might pray about me to find strength in a trial.
When we pray WITH each other, ah, there’s a power in that. Usually this is focused on something outside of both of us, like the people who are suffering in Southeast Asia, or a child who has been kidnapped.

One of the goals I set at the inception of the MBN was to “pray without ceasing” for each other. It’s just a short little prayer, maybe 30 seconds or less, but it is a prayer that covers all of us – and many, many more people – with the intentions of Light and Love and Life.

There is a deep spiritual reason for asking our El-Shaddai-Olam to grant all of us that trio of blessings on a daily basis. The reason is that it helps us to follow Christ’s command to “love one another (↔ Music Link) as I have loved (↔ Learning Link) you,” and to “let your light shine before all.” Your day-to-day life is given to you so that you can show the world the Light and Life of the Word. We use a special word for that – MANIFEST: demonstrate, show forth, exhibit, make plain, or reveal. We are to let the Light and Life of the Word become so obvious in us that it allows others access to a Spiritual Epiphany so that they, too, know the Light and Life of the Word.

The Feast of Epiphany is a commemoration of the Epiphany – the showing forth, the revealing – of Christ to the World by recalling the visit of the Magi. Long story short, Jesus was revealed to the lowest and poorest (shepherds), the purest (Anna and Simeon), and the most clearly-defined outsiders (the Magi), before his own nation learned who he was. The “Three Kings“(↔ Music Link) knew Jesus as THE King, the fulfillment of prophecy. The Shepherds were told “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Anna and Simeon knew Jesus to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Both of these prophets were walking in the Holy Spirit because “the Holy Spirit rested” on them.

Beloved, guess what? THE HOLY SPIRIT RESTS ON US, TOO! Not only can we recognize Christ when he is shown to us, others can recognize Christ in us when we show him to them. That is AWESOME!! And I mean “awesome” in the way that it should be defined – overwhelming, amazing, awe-inspiring, wonderful, evoking respect, reverence, esteem, worship, adoration, praise, glory, and veneration. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He is the Light. That’s the main point of the APP. But remember this: He also says in Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the World … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” How can HE be the Light and WE be the Light? You know the answer; his is in us and we are in him and the Spirit rests on us in unity with God the Father. If God had a dream, it would be about us because everything he did, he did for us. I dreamed a dream, and in it I saw God’s dream for us. It might look a little like this:

Epiphany me!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, History, Information about the MBN, Links, MUSIC!, Prayer Requests, THE APP
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, For sharing, History, Languages, Music, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – December 30, 2022 – What’s it to ya?

December 30, 2022

2253AFC123022 – What’s it to ya?

Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

Sirach 3:3-4 –
³Those who honor their father atone for sins,
⁴ and those who respect their mother are like those who lay up treasure.

Psalm 128:1 –
¹Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways.

Colossians 3:16-17 – ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.^] ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Matthew 2:14-15 – ¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. Well, Belovéd, it’s been quite a week already and there is more to come during this Octave of Christmas which began on the day of The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) and will end on January 1, 2023 The Octave Day of Christmas Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Normally our weekend study is based on the readings from the following Sunday – in this case that would be January 1, 2023. Today, however, I have been steered toward the celebration for today, December 30, 2022 – Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I believe this became the assignment because we are in an enormous crisis – indeed a plethora of crises – related to family. We often ask in the midst of such a predicament, “Why is God doing this to us?” or “Why is God allowing this to happen?” One need only consider the demise of family values and family structure to see something of the root of this mess. We have abandoned God, and even banned him from his rightful place in our homes, our schools, our governments, and – worst of all – in our hearts. “But not me! I didn’t do that! It’s them, those wretched fools over there! It’s all their fault!”

Well, what’s it to ya? If you, if I, if we are “doing OK,” then what are we supposed to do about all this stuff going on? The most obvious is that we can pray about it, but not like some we hear who say, “God deliver us from these sinful people who bring harm to all around them.” We could perhaps pray, “God thank you for opening my eyes (↔ Music Link) so I can see the goodness in this World and in these people who oppose you.” We can take positive action by making certain our families follow the example of the Holy Family – a Dad, a Mom, and a Kid – in a community of families. That’s so difficult to find today! There is so much violence and hatred and selfishness and … well, you know the rest of it. We can live our lives shuttered away from the world, we can live in sustaining the world, or we can live our lives in, but not of, the world. These are realities we cannot escape. It was pretty much the same for The Holy Family.

We surely remember what happened after the Magi left Jesus and his Mom at the house (probably in Bethlehem, perhaps in Jerusalem). King Herod had every male child in and around the vicinity of Bethlehem brutally murdered. That is why Joseph was ordered to take his wife and child to Egypt for protection. When Herod Agrippa died, he was replaced by his sons, Archelaus, Antipas, and Phillip. Another angel vision assured Joseph and Mary that it was safe to return to Israel, they decided to return to Nazareth which is where Jesus learned the Law of Moses and also carpentry or construction. He was obedient to his parents and honored them throughout his formative years. He honored his foster father, Joseph, by accepting his teaching and guidance. He “laid up treasure” by respecting his mother. He was close to her during his entire life on Earth, and after his Resurrection, he continued to honor her as an Ideal Woman (I’ve referred to her as a “Proverbs 31” woman).

From the account we have of the Holy Family visiting Jerusalem when Jesus was 12, we know that Jesus already understood that his mission was to do the works of his Father. (See Luke 2:41-51) The Greek word for this is dei (die) connoting “what is essential,” or “what must be,” or “it behooves me,” or “it is incumbent upon me” and – in this usage – Jesus is telling his parents, “I am bound to be here rather than anywhere else.” Then they all went back down to Nazareth, “and he was obedient to them.” Mary cherished every word (and moment no doubt) in her heart. After this event, we never find another mention of Joseph in the rest of the Bible. We don’t know when he died, but we do know that his death made Mary a widow, and Jesus honored her by caring for her in their own home built for and with them by Joseph. This was a family that revered God, and made it their habit to go up to Jerusalem regularly for the Festival of Passover. They had a habit of loving and obeying God, they learned the Scriptures given by and about God. They ate together, worked together, travelled together. In short, they behaved as a good Jewish family. They reverenced the Lord and walked in his ways. (See Psalm 128:1 above)

Not long ago I share with you something that truly surprised me. Jesus could sing! (See 2123AFC060421 – The 411 of the 808). This is presented to us in Mark 14:26 – ²⁶When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus learned those “songs” – the Psalms – from his parents and his Hebrew school as he prepared for his Bar Mitzvah – and so we see that learning things together as well as doing things together were a normal part of their life as a family. In the same way that Crucita and I have a Christ-centered home, they had a YAH-centered home. “Yah? What’s a Yah?”

More like “Who’s the YAH.” Let’s go back to Luke 2 and build in some background to help answer that. We mentioned that Herod died and God told Joseph it was safe to “go back home,” so to speak. Matthew 2:22b-23 – And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” Now, the people who like to pick at “lose threads” in the Gospel really love this one because nowhere in the Canon of Scripture does it say “He shall be called a Nazorean.” However, there’s some good Jewish riddle-making in this. “Shall be called a Nazorean” just might be a play on the Hebrew word netser נֵצֶר (nay’-tser) a shoot or stem as in Isaiah 11:1 (↔ Click Link for multiple translations) The designation was used as one of contempt as well, as we see in John 1:45-46 – ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” That was the test of a Prophet, to go and see what was said and done. Moses gave advice on that:

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 – ²¹You may say to yourself, “How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?” ²²If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.
We find additional instructions in Psalm 68 where we read in Psalm 68:4 –
⁴Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH*,
and rejoice before him.
Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK. Used by permission
* יָהּ (YAH) {yaw} a Proper Name meaning God or Lord; a contraction of “The Unutterable Name.”

Jesus spoke in the Name of The Lord – in fact, he told us he spoke only what his Father told him. He was indeed a Prophet because he spoke what God wanted to have declared, and what he spoke came true. Jesus, Son of the Living God, (Son of YAH) was a Prophet. He spoke the Word of God to the people; moreover, he is the Word of God made Flesh. He predicted The Apostle Peter’s denial as well as his own death and it was fulfilled as he described it. In the Old Testament, some Prophets, Elijah and Elisha for example, performed miracles. Jesus performed miracles, and thousands went to go see him because of what they heard and because of what they hoped. In all of these things, Jesus frequently referred to himself as “The Son of Man.” This occurs over 80 times in the Gospels, and in the Old Testament it occurs over 100 times – mostly in reference to Ezekiel. The term, “Son of Man” is a term describing a Prophet.

We also know, through the writings of The Apostle Paul, that God calls all of us to be his adopted sons and daughters when we claim Christ as our brother and JAH as our Father. (John 1:12-13 – ¹²But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.) If we, then, are baptized into the Body of Christ – the Church – then God the Father requires that his children present themselves to him as righteous, loyal, and obedient servants, free from sin as is his Son. Those who do not comply with these requirements are roundly condemned by God as in Isaiah 1:11-20. Here the Prophet of God speaks out against token “sacrifices” made by people “with blood on their hands.” They do not honor God with these sacrifices out of reverence, but rather dishonor God by their rejection of his provident Love. They are pretending to be righteous, but still living in impudence. They do not Love as HE loves (↔ Music Link) – with all their heart. We know another being who embraced that lifestyle – a former high-ranking and much favored angel named Lucifer. Isaiah was letting them know they were more like that angel then like their Creator. Jesus made the same observation about the same problem in John 8:31-47 (↔ Click Link). I STRONGLY encourage you follow that link and read it with The Holy Family in mind. You may see a paradigm you have not seen before. Go ahead. I’ll wait right here. <<<< pause >>>>

The same goes for “pretending” to be a family. You might

all live in the same house but have your meals at different times,
each pursue her/his own interest,
make it to church when it doesn’t interfere with the kids’ sports,
or dad’s football game,
or mom’s book club;
ride in the same car like carpooling workers and
each goes off to different activities;
go to Mass or Sunday services without preparing for the readings in advance; OR
maybe as a Catholic Parent or teen you skip your examination of conscience because “well, that’s not so bad.”

That familial pretense is offensive to God! As parents, as catechists, as neighbors, as godparents, as lovers of Christ, as servants of El Shaddai-Olam, we had best be examining our lives with the M.A.P. (↔ Click Link) and asking “What’s it to YAH?” That’s in the APP. When we find our answers, we might also repent and return to the Gospel, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, History, Links, MUSIC!, Prayer Requests, Reptentance
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, Multiple Scripture references on topic, Music, Prayer Request, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – December 23, 2022 – No Deposit. No Return

December 23, 2022

2252AFC122322 – No Deposit. No Return.

Isaiah 52:7 – ⁷How beautiful upon the mountains (↔ Music Link)
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.*”
* Some translations read : “Your God is King!”

Psalm 98:1 –
¹O sing to the Lord a new song, (↔ Music Link)
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.

Hebrews 1:3-4 – ³He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

John 1:14 – ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,^] full of grace and truth.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. And while we’re at it: Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou, ʻŌmea! That’s our Hawaiian greeting for Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Belovéd! We are very nearly at the end of 2022 with a single additional post remaining for December 30^th. These Key Verses from this Sunday’s readings for The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass during the Day (← Check it out!). Today’s greeting comes from 2 Corinthians 13:14 and contains a couple of my favorite Greek words: Κοινωνία (koinonia) and ἀγάπη (agape). Koinonia is the Grace of fellowship, sharing in, as in Communion. And of course we recognize agape – the pure Love of God which he shares with us in “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” Looking at this collection of Scripture passages we see a prevailing theme: Victory!

How wonderful and exciting it is to hear the Sentinel up on the hill declare that war has ceased and victory has been won! God’s mighty arm has won for us – indeed Belovéd, for us – the Victory over the Ancient Foe: Death. Our God reigns. That alternate translation, “Your God is King” makes our hearts rejoice and sing “Your King is God!” Our God is indeed An Awesome God (↔ Music Link) for who but God could defeat death and the evil that it relies on? It is true that “His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.” What, then, is that right hand and Holy arm? What – or Who – is spoken of in Isaiah 52:10 –
¹⁰The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.? Who is our Salvation? Our Salvation is the Right Hand of God, his Holy Arm – Jesus, the Christ of God. It is not just the saved who are called to rejoice, to sing in gladness, “Hosanna!” (↔ Music Link) It is the entire world which is called to worship in Psalm 98. Rivers, and hills; streams, and seas; rocks and rills; birds, and trees; all exult in rejoicing, for “He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 98:9b) Here “judge” (Hebrew: shaphat) carries the connotation of defend, deliver, govern. He will defend, deliver, and govern the World (all of nature) and the Peoples (all the Nations) with justice and impartiality. How can that be? I am speaking like a crazy person here. We know God can and will do that because only God will and can. Jesus is seated “at the right hand of God” because he is the right (and righteous) hand of God. This is why The Apostle Paul says of him:

He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. It is HIS word that will be our judge. We will recall John 12:48-50 – ^48 “The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, ⁴⁹for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” In this we see that God has honored his Son during Creation, into and through Salvation, and onward to Transformation. It is not only his transformation we can expect, but also the transformation of the World and all within it – including us! Not only will Jesus, the strong Right Arm of God bring us victory, but also he will lift us up to know that Victory. We are reminded of the account we find in Acts 3:1-9. In this passage The Apostle Peter and The Apostle John are going to the temple “at the hour of prayer,” and there they see a man who was lame from birth who was begging for alms. Peter told him, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Peter extended his hand to help him up, and it was then that the man realized he had been healed. In this case, it was not the man’s faith that brought the healing; it was The Apostle Peter’s Faith! Belovéd, what could we accomplish if we had such Faith? What if there was such a thing as a “Faith Bank?” We have food banks, and money banks, so why not a Faith Bank? Surprise! We do have such a bank. It is called “The Deposit of Faith.” Perhaps that is not a familiar term. We don’t hear about it from the Pulpit often, so, what is it?

These words will surely sound familiar: “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” Here the “small-c catholic” means universal – all of Christendom. Holy – established with and in God. Apostolic is the word some folks get hung up on. The Deposit of Faith is the combination of Scripture and Sacred Oral Tradition which is usually called Apostolic Tradition. The Gospels that we read, teach, and preach today were first shared orally among and through the Apostles and their disciples. Jesus told his Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them and help them remember everything he had told them as well as everything that was to come (See John 14:26 and John 16:13). That information, that Faith, that Scripture was deposited in them by Jesus and managed in them by the Holy Spirit. This eternal, spiritual, and inviolable Truth came from God to and in the teachings of his Son, Jesus (who did not speak on his own but said only what the Father told him), and was preserved for us in and through the Apostles who were informed and guided by the Holy Spirit.

That’s quite a Chain of Custody! Scripture and Apostolic Tradition are preserved together, and it is the Church’s role to ensure that that Chain of Custody remains unbroken when Scripture and Apostolic Tradition are passed forward to us – the Believers who are the Belovéd. It is a deposit of far greater value than any deposit of wealth valued by earthlings – precious metals, precious gems, precious any physical matter. It is the Deposit of Faith, and from it we are allowed to make investments in our own lives. Did you know that “invest” comes from the concept of clothing a person? Because of The Deposit of Faith, we can expect to be – someday – give our shoes, a crown, and a robe and Walk All Over God’s Heaven. No more moaning and groaning, just shouting our Praise to God. We will return to all that is right, and just, and beautiful, all that is holy, and eternal, and present before God’s Throne.

Belovéd, we often say here, “Honor the Giver by Accepting the Gift.” What happens to us if we refuse this amazing gift of The Deposit of Faith? That little spiritual we just listened to says, “not everyone who’s talkin’ about Heaven is goin’ there.” Jesus said as much himself. Remember when we looked at Matthew 7:21? It says, “²¹Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” How, then, do we return to the Lord? In the passage at Psalm 116:12-18, we find this in verse 13: ¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. That “cup of Salvation” – as in Psalm 23 – overflows with all the Perfect Gifts and Generous Giving (See James 1:17 again), and the overflow comes from God through the same Chain of Custody as The Deposit of Faith. That is why the Holy Spirit named this post “No Deposit. No Return.” It’s not the Disney movie with David Niven and Barbara Felden. It has nothing to do with soda-pop bottles. It is strictly about the giving and receiving of F.A.I.T.H. as God intended it to be since Before Eden. (← That’s a post for another day.) All of this, Scripture, Apostolic Tradition – and even the Teaching Authority of the Church which gives us a Catechism to embrace and follow – all of these come to us because in the APP God chose to bless us when he planned for that day when the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son full of grace and truth. And you can take that to The Victory Bank! Your Deposit Slip will read YOLO-F.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, History, Information about the MBN, Links, Prayer Requests, Reptentance
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, For sharing, Multiple Scripture references on topic, Prayer Request, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – December 16, 2022 – All Graces Great And Small

December 16, 2022

2251AFC111622 – All Graces Great And Small

Isaiah 7:14 – ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. [עמנו אל (im-ma-nu el) – God is with us Εμμανουήλ in Koine Greek]

Psalm 24:1 – ¹The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;

Romans 1:7 – ⁷To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:21 – ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus*, for he will save his people from their sins. *Yeshua יֵשׁוּע, which means “salvation.” (↔ Click Link from alternate source)

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Some of what you see here today will be things learned in our Parish Mission earlier this week which was given by our Parochial vicar, Fr. Dario Rinaldi. You’ll see those passages marked (Fr. D.). Today’s title is a paraphrase of the book and movie series All Creatures Great and Small; however, instead of creatures, today we will be talking about Grace. I’d like to start with something we’ve probably all heard – from Mother Goose!

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He had a crooked sixpence and a crooked little smile;
He had a crooked cat with a crooked little mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Now, there are several versions of this old rhyme, and I’ve chosen the least nocuous. Some folks think this rhyme is creepy, or politically charged (often attributed to an agreement between Scottish General Sir Alexander Leslie and England addressing political and religious freedoms for Scotland ~~ according to Wikipedia (↔ Click Link). I see it differently. Here is my analysis:

A man with a spinal handicap of some sort lived on a wandering lane. He was fortunate to have a sixpence – about half a shilling (and 3X’s more than tuppence) . It was made of very thin silver and easy bent (intentionally or not). He therefore had something to smile about despite his smile being a little off-kilter. He also had a cat with a similar health problem, and the cat had a pet mouse – again with a handicap. Together they all shared a poorly built but sheltering house. They were happy to be so blessed! Each of those explanations of blessings are small Graces, Good Gifts from our Good God. There are other forms of small Graces that fill our lives with blessings each day. Here’s another example:

We have a few shama thrush birds (↔ Learning Link) living in our neighborhood. They are marvelous singers, and often mimic other birds. They are also capable of making up their own melodies some of which are quite complicated and some are just very simple. They sing outside our windows in the morning. That is a bit of Grace we delight in. There’s one who has perfected a wolf whistle, and that always brings a chuckle – and another Grace. Those of you who have been to Kauaʻi know we also have a stupendous number (more than 400,000) of chickens! There are more chickens than people on this Island even during tourist season when we get as many as 7-10 thousand per week. Sometimes the roosters start crowing at 2 AM and that goes on until sunset. There are couple of Graces there. One is being able to 95% ignore them. The other is the sound of a hen cluck-cluck-clucking along with 8-12 chicks behind her. Cuteness of baby chicks is certainly a pleasant Grace.

All Graces Great and Small are gifts from God and are signs of his great Love for us. What I have described so far are the small Graces he delights in heaping upon us. Whenever we accept them as Graces, we grow increasingly aware of the Goodness of God and his immense Love for all Creation. In today’s Key Verses we have some examples of the Great Graces. The first one from Isaiah: Behold! A virgin will bear a child and his name shall be called Emmanual (also spelled Immanual). Please follow this (Learning Link↔) to 1651AFC121616 – Here’s yer sign! Scroll down to the paragraph that begins “Wait a minute.” There you will find an explanation of the difference between “name” and “call.” This Key Verse is the Incarnation Narrative spoken over 700 years before Jesus was incarnated.

Another of the ginormous Graces everyone receives is in our Key Verse from Psalms:
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it
God most certainly did not wind up the universe like a huge clock and then move on to other things while letting the clock just run down! All existing things, all places, and all persons – past, present, and future – all that is, or was, or will be, belongs to him. Some of us might say, “I do not belong to God because I do not believe there is such an entity.” In my interactions with believers and nonbelievers over the past 70 years, I have found that it takes a lot more effort to deny that God has control of everything than it does to believe (even a little bit) that God is an easily-discovered reality. Look around, and we will see that God’s Good Gifts and Gracious Graces are everywhere to be seen. Look to the Key Verse from The Apostle Paul to the Romans.
“To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“OK, old man, I see what he says, but I’m not in Rome, I haven’t any Grace, and I’ll never be a Saint!” In the days of The Apostle Paul, “Rome” was pretty much “the entire world.” The fact that the Epistle is addressed to the Romans indicates it was – and is – addressed to “the entire world” today. He tells us therefore, that by Grace, we are called to be saints. Did you follow that link back to 1651AFC121616? Let’s break it down to a very simple explanation: “Capital S” saints are men and women whose lives reflect exemplary commitment to living as fully as possible the Christian’s calling to a life of service to God and to her/his fellow earthlings. All the rest of the persons called saints are those of us who are trying to live a good, solid Christian life, but probably could not be called exemplary. We are destined for Heaven, but it is unlikely we will ever be singled out as persons of exceptional faith and virtue. All who are called by God (See John 6:44 – ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day) will be drawn to Jesus and be raised up – will be a saint (“little s”) – on the last day. That is another Great Grace! “Great” as in wonderful, and ‘great’ and in HUGE. We can have confidence in that because of what we see in the Key Verse from Matthew. God keeps his promises, even (and especially) those we claim and accept as his Gifts – All Graces Great and Small. That brings me to a few lines from (Fr. D.). The comments are from my notes during the Mission, and originate from three sources: The Holy Spirit, Fr. Dario, and my reactions to what I heard from both.

(Fr. D.) People are following chaos [1] as their goddess. This leads, therefore, to the lack of order in our life (me→) & counters our affinity to God.
(Fr. D.) Home is the domestic church (JP2), and is therefore similar to Mass through the Church and the table (me→ NOT the TV) is similar to the Altar where the meal is distributed.
(Fr. D.) Sharing a meal together is a communal act, and assisting in preparing and cleaning up afterwards are contributions to the entire community.
(Fr. D.) Sunday is a sacred day for expressing our Love for one another.
(me →) From a mission about 10 years ago – “The exit signs on the five doors of the church could also be labeled “ENTRANCE,” because it is through those doors that we “go forth into all the world glorifying God in our lives.”
~~ Fr. Chuck Faso, OFM
(All three contributors): Fully emulate the attitude of Jesus. “Love one another as I AM loving you” means to know others, and to know about them as well, which is to say that we are to Love them without regard to similarities or differences.
(Fr. D.) The best way to defend our faith and hope in Christ is to share our faith and home in Christ. This is done by offering a chance to belong to something with someone. (me→) It is the evangelization of witnessing/testifying.
(Fr. D.) Go to church to forge relationships (me→) because “It’s the real thing.”
(Fr. D.) Take ownership of our parish as we would our home
(Fr. D.) Start with something that makes even a small difference. Fr. D: Dust the pews, mow the lawn, (me→) share some cookies or avocados. Fr. D: God is less interested in results than in effort.
(Fr. D.) Recognize the human dignity of anyone you meet (Please read the story of the usher and the hippie) [2] Do the good things good neighbors do at home.
(Fr. D.) Seeds are planted in the ground or else they won’t grow. We must be planted in the ground, the good soil, of our faith. (me→) Plants don’t grow from the top down. Neither do we.
(Fr. D.) Conversion comes from being available, not confrontational. Availability leads to the beauty of vulnerability, and on to knowing the happiness of being in Christ Jesus.

We have spoken here often of “that attitude of gratitude.” (↔ Click Link) All these little points of learning I have shared here are Graces given to all of us – even the folks who don’t read this post. Grace is characterized and defined as “the unmerited favor of God.” It is available everywhere and to everyone. However, if we just stop to take a moment to smile at the shama’s song, or delight in a rainbow (the kind created by God, not by man); if we find encouragement in hearing a baby cry in church, or happiness in the generosity of a neighbor; if the words of a friend or a teacher or homilist stir up the banked coals of our faith – then, in all these things and innumerably more, we are inundated in an Ocean of Grace [3](↔ Learning Link: Scroll down to the story from Steve BROWN). If we accept that Grace, we are open to accepting more, and more, and more Graces until we have so many blessings we cannot help but share them! So how do we start on that? I think The Apostle Peter had a good handle on it:

1 Peter 4:7-11 – ⁷The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. ⁸Above all, maintain constant Love for one another, for Love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. ¹¹Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. It’s in the APP!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] See COSMOGONY OF HESIOD (↔ Click Link)

[2] Seriously, please go to that story and read it. It’s terrific! Here’s another link: 745AFC110907

[3] This one goes w-a-a-a-a-ay back, but it’s worth the time to go there. 1412AFC032114

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, History, Links, MUSIC!, Prayer Requests, Reptentance, Something Old
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, For sharing, History, Prayer Request, Scripture study, Something Old, Stories, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – December 9, 2022 – Walk Up to The Door

December 9, 2022

2250AFC120922 – Walk Up to The Door

Isaiah 35:4 – ⁴Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”

James 5:7-8 – ⁷Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Matthew 11:11-15 – ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵Let anyone with ears listen! (See Malachi 4:5 – ⁵Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.)

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord. Welcome to the War Room where we will read Scripture, pray fervently, and sing hymns and joyful music. What brings that to the page? We are at war Belovéd, and we gather together to ask the Lord’s blessings as we wait expectantly for everything that Jesus is, was, and will be now, then, and forever.

This is the Season of Advent, and we are halfway through it. This coming Sunday is the third of the four Sundays. It has been called Gaudete Sunday in times past based on the Introit Antiphon “Gaudete in Domino semper” (Rejoice in the Lord always)* and sometimes the vestments are Rose (“pink” is not a liturgical color). It is a Sunday when we are reminded to REJOICE because the Victory has been won through what started in Bethlehem. Yes, we are at war, and yes we must keep going, but YES we can also rejoice for we know already that the outcome will be something Good for all mankind, and we will have been part of that. *Philippians 4:4 – ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!

Yesterday we also celebrated the Immaculate Conception, a feast day not all that well understood (or attended) by many Catholics, and barely conceptualized by non-Catholics. What many people fail to understand is that the dogma of The Immaculate Conception isn’t about Gabriel visiting Mary to ask if she would carry Jesus the Son of God in her womb. It is about the special privilege given to Mary to be free from original sin from the moment of her conception – a conception which was normal in every way except that God allowed for Mary to experience Salvation through Jesus before his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. It is good to remember that, because that Child of Mary is the Biggest and Bestest Act of MERCY ever! “Why is that?” you may ask. Let’s look for a pair of examples of what Jesus himself said about it.

John 8:51 – ⁵¹Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.

John 11:24-26 – ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

We are creatures wallowing in greed and impatience. “I want what I want when I want it, and I want it now!” Some days we ask God, “Why can’t you just send Jesus to us NOW and get rid of all this trash?” Well, by now you know about the Absolutely Perfect Plan – the APP – and you know God does what he does for his reason, not ours. (Check it out! →) Psalm 18:30 – ³⁰This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

The liberated nation of Israel had to wait to take over the promised land because God HAD A PLAN: Deuteronomy 7:22 – ²²The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you. That’s a good one for meditation these days. What “wild animals” might we face if God cleared away all the enemies? Here’s The Apostle Paul’s take on that: 2 Corinthians 5:5-7 – ⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ⁶So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight.

In today’s Key Verse from the letter of James we read that the farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. “Everything comes in its due season.” (See Ecclesiastes 3:1-6). The Apostle Paul says we should rejoice – twice! He and James (and every Believer, one would hope) knows that Jesus is coming because GOD SAYS SO:

Isaiah 35:4 – ⁴Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”

God says “Don’t panic! I got this! Just keep walking. Be Not Afraid (↔ Music Link)” (Micah 6:8 again) Belovéd, do we believe he is walking with us? I’ve got to give you a little jukebox here of things that affirm that idea. ALL of these are (↔ Music Links)

Be Not Afraid

Jesus walked this lonesome valley

Walking with Jesus

I come to the garden alone

Just a Closer Walk With Thee

Jesus’ message was “If you have ears for hearing, listen up.” The Apostle Paul says “Rejoice!” We reply to both of them, “Open My Eyes Lord (↔ Music Link) And open my ears, and my mouth, and my HEART! Open the Eyes of My Heart (↔ Music Link) WE WILL SEE YOU HIGH AND LIFTED UP! God is LOVE, and he has given himself to us as Love. Please scroll up and look at the Key Verse emblem for today. Do you see how the head of the key is shaped? Is it not a castle, or perchance a glorious Temple? Look carefully and see that the DOOR IS OPEN. We are walking there with Jesus, walking every day, walking all the way. We have every reason for rejoicing until that moment When Jesus Comes Callin’ for Me (↔ Music Link). We just need to keep on walkin’ and rejoicing. Here are some of the words God uses to describe rejoicing:

Samah – שָׂמַ֖ח – Jubilant, spontaneous dancing, signing (simhach) – 1 Chronicles 29:9
Alaz – עָלַז – Exult – Burst into leaping with joy – Habakkuk 3:17-18
Nagilah – נָגִ֖ילָה – Let us rejoice – Psalm 118:4
Euphraino – εὐφραίνω – To gladden the mind – Revelation 12:12
Kauchaomai – καυχάομαι – Glory in success and boast against – 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Sunchairo – a συγχαίρω – Rejoicing together, with others – Luke 15:6
Agalliao – ἀγαλλιάω – Rejoice Greatly, to exult; jump for joy – Revelation 19:6-8
Chairo – χαίρω – Rejoicing over experiencing God’s Grace; be glad in the Lord – Luke 15:32

Think of all the people who walked when, where, and how God told them to walk. One of the first ones we learn about is Enoch who, surprisingly, was a son of Cain. Here is his introduction: Genesis 4:17 – ¹⁷Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.
Genesis 5:21-24 – ²¹When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²²Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. ²³Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. ²⁴Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.
The Apostle Paul pointed to Enoch as an exemplar of F.A.I.T.H. in Hebrews 11:5-6 – ⁵By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hope Fulfilled

Who else walked with, by, before, or to God? Adam, before he sinned. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, the Nation of Israel over the dry land, David, Solomon, Ruth, Naomi, Mary with Joseph, Jesus and his Disciples, John the Baptizer, all the major and minor prophets. All of these people – and many more – walked with God toward Hope. Why? Because there is an expectation of a Future that will be Good, and because we have faith that we can attain that Good Future if we move toward it with patient anticipation of all the wonderful Gifts inherent in the Divine Promises. We are motivated to walk toward this Hope by the purest Gifts of Love. Those Gifts are given to be shared, to Shine On (↔ Music Link) for everyone around us. The Way is narrow, and the Gate is small for entry into Life, but the gate is open to all allowed enter in. It takes determination to keep walking with Jesus, and determination is possible because of our Faith in Hope which is our Hope in Faith. Circular logic? Not really, because “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (See Romans 10:17). This little guy certainly exemplifies determination.

Eve and Adam walked with the Lord in the Garden before they fell prey to Satan. Our goal is to walk with him in the New Garden of the New Heavens, New Jerusalem, and New Earth. We can choose to sit under the apple tree and wait for God to yank us up there, or we can keep walking right up to that door. “Nothing unclean may enter there (See Revelation 21:27)” so, we must keep leaving footprints in the sand as we walk with Jesus all the way back home.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, God's Absolutely Perfect Plan, Links, MUSIC!, Prayer Requests, Reptentance
Tags: Art, Biblical Languages, For sharing, Languages, MORE Music!, Multiple Scripture references on topic, Music, Prayer Request, REPENTANCE, Scripture study, The APP!

Aloha Friday Message – December 2, 2022 – But wait! There’s MORE!

December 2, 2022

2049AFC120222 – But wait! There’s MORE!

Isaiah 11:9-10 – ⁹They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
¹⁰On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Psalm 72:7-8 – ⁷In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
⁸May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Romans 15:8-9a – ⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

Matthew 3:10 – ¹⁰Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 7:21-23 – ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ ²³Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you on this the Second Sunday of Advent. There are some truly powerful Scripture passages associated with all three cycles of this celebration. In Cycle A we begin with the proclamation that a descendant of Jesse will set in motion a time of Peace. In Cycle B Isaiah proclaims we are to prepare the way for the Lord, and the Epistle from 2 Peter tells us to remain Holy, and john the Baptizer wars us to repent and wait for the One who baptizes with fire. In Cycle C we have a rare reading from the Prophet Baruch proclaiming Israel will see God’s Glory. In the Gospel, we again meet John the Baptizer and consider his relationship to Jesus. All three of the Synoptic gospels – the Gospels that recount the life of Jesus in “parallel” – the importance of John’s ministry of preaching repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah is given great importance.

This year we are in Cycle A, and the readings remind us that the Messiah will reign supreme over all things, he will bring Peace and Justice to all, and Jesus’ reign will extend to Jews and Gentiles forever. This was a shocking message to the Jews of Jesus’ time! “Even Samaritans?!?!” they asked. In the account of Jesus meeting the Smartian woman at the well, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and – while in the region of Tyre and Sidon – the Canaanite (a gentile also referred to as Syrophoenician) woman received healing for her daughter. Jesus granted that request. Recall also the healing of the 10 lepers, among which was a Samaritan and the only one to return and thank Jesus. All of these accounts help us to better understand the openness we must have to those whom we find disturbing, or oppressive, or even violently prejudiced against us. Jesus is Ruler over them, too, and – like us – he expects them to “repent and believe the Gospel.” Jesus also knows that many of them will not do that, and that some of them will claim to have worked miracles on his behalf. We recall that in today’s last Key Verse from Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus calls them out for what they are – people who were actually trying to con others into believing that they possessed the power to do those things thereby depriving God of the credit for miracles. The other Key Verse that deals with this is Matthew 3:10. This is a quote from the ministry of John the Baptizer. The self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees were putting on a show for the people by stepping forward to be baptized, but without repentance. John is warning them (as Jesus frequently does later) that “the axe is lying at the root of the trees.” God’s salvation is available for the repentant, but the unrepentant will be cut down and cast into the oblivion of God’s absence.

In Advent we usually concentrate our meditations on the coming of Jesus, the angels and the shepherds, the Manger, and the Wise Men from the East. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Do you remember the most important event in Scripture? If you page back to 2212AFC032522 – Our Five Sons you will find this: “Today we recall the very crux of Infinity. I have said before that the place where the two loops cross is the Manger. I learned recently that I need to back that up about nine months to the date of March 25^th. Do you know what date that is in the Church calendar? It is the date on which everything in the B.I.B.L.E. is based – and most of us call it by the wrong name! It is indeed called The Feast of the Annunciation, but it is also the DAY OF THE INCARNATION! That is the day The Christ of God took on flesh and became Emauel. We celebrate his birth as Christmas, but he could not have been born as human if he had not been conceived as human!

The entire Bible continually points to and insists on God’s requirements for humanity. He values formal worship, to be sure, but he values even more the actions of men and women who are righteous, just, kind, and humble. (therefore we cite Isaiah 11:9-10) It not just “churchianity;” it is the commitment to living the life of service to God and neighbor which he requires of those whom he blesses. God is always equitable giving to each whatever is most needed for a blesséd life. His gifts are our protection against evil. When we refuse those gifts, when we refuse to honor him by serving our neighbors with justice and mercy for all, then we lose those gifts. We are then subject to the evil that God’s good Gifts prevent from harming us; we suffer the consequences of our disobedience. In times like these, people often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 – ¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. There is still a good lesson in that. Those who violate the innocent risk the wrath of God – and that includes those who ignore God as well as those who oppose God. When we act without Mercy upon others, we can expect that others will not be merciful with us. Jeremiah 22:3 – ³Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.

You perhaps can see now that Advent is more than just waiting for Baby Jesus. As we recently learned in a homily by Rev. Fr. Patrick McCormick (former Naval Chaplain and now at Mililani for St. John Apostle & Evangelist Church), the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם – place or house of bread) Beth Lechem (↔ Learning Link) was ALSO THE ARRIVAL – the Advent – of everything Jesus said and did as the Messiah, the Christ of God. That enhanced paradigm is what keeps many of us going back to Scripture over and over and over because the impact of it is ginormous! Let’s see if you remember this oft-used image of an ancient olive tree sprouting a new branch:

In the First Reading for this Sunday, we turn to Isaiah 11:1-10 which begins with

¹ A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
²The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

(See 1649AFC120216 – 2^nd Advent) From there I quote: “Olive trees can live to be hundreds of years old. As they age they become more gnarled and even hollow, but they still produce fruit – good fruit! Eventually, though, a tree stops producing fruit, and is cut down. The stump is left. The extensive root system that formerly feed the ancient tree is still in the earth. It continues to feed the wood in the stump. With careful attention, the stump can send forth a shoot that grows to be a new olive tree. It is tender and fragile like any sapling, but it has a tremendous advantage – an extensive, well-established, efficient root system! The sapling can be easily broken off or munched by an animal, but if the one who tends the grove takes care of the shoot – it grows and produces excellent fruit often in greater quantity than before. That is Isaiah’s message. God is saying, “I’m going to cultivate a new tree from the roots of the old, and the new tree will give you everything the old one did and even more.”

The Ancient Root of Jesse is still in place, and the fruit from the New Branch (↔ Music Link) is ours. (See Zechariah 6:12 and Jeremiah 33:15) Everything that was old will be made new. It’s the most fascinating feature of the APP! We can see how this marvelous Truth is given to us unceasingly in Scripture such as Romans 15:4 – ⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Advent is the Season for our preparation for Hope in Jesus, the Christ of God and all that God directed him to do as we read in John 12:48-49 – ⁴⁸The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, ⁴⁹for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. (That should sound familiar; we’ve used it before.) Everything from “Let there be” in Genesis to “²⁰The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” Every single Word and Message of God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan begins with The Incarnation and ends … NEVER!! That is why we celebrate Jesus at the beginning of the new liturgical year and all the way to the beginning of the next liturgical year. Jesus is coming, he is here among us in the Tabernacle and in our hearts, and in his given Word, the Only Begotten Son and – by adoption – our Brother. With that in mind, I’d venture to modify the adage “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I’d like to say, “Jesus is the Reason for Everything.” O how I love Jesus! (↔ Music Link) because he fulfills every promise of God in the APP.

But Wait! There’s more!

Galatians 4:4-5 – ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. There is a Plan, it is perfect, and we are part of if only we will Repent and Believe the Gospel. Every Good Gift is coming to us as a baby in a manger up to a Savior Ascending into Heaven and far, far beyond to the past and the future. Blesséd be God Forever! In Advent we are not JUST watching with anticipation for the Baby Jesus, but we are truly waiting for the coming of everything Jesus ever was, is, or will be at the Nexus of Infinity for all and peace (↔ Music Link) abound, until the moon is no more.. Hold out your apron (Luke 6:38), because there’s a BIG batch of Good Gifts coming your way comprised of all of God’s Best Stuff! That happens because On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious,in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

YOU GET TO KEEP IT FOREVER AND THERE’S NO ADDITIONAL FEE OR AND UNSEEN COSTS! What a GOOD God we have, and he has come to live with us!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

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Aloha Friday Message – Guess who’s coming to the Banquet.

November 25, 2022

2248AFC112522 – Guess who’s coming to the Banquet.

Isaiah 2:3c – For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Psalm 122:6-7 – ⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
⁷Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.”

Romans 13:11-14 – ¹¹Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹²the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 24:42 – ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May Peace always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd! This coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. I was thinking back about the various series we have done over the years. It was tempting to go back to the Aloha Friday Message Mercy Series (↔ Click Link) and reissue them in edited and updated form. That was contrary to the guidance already in heart and mind for this post – the idea of watchful waiting during Advent. Advent means coming, a beginning, a dawn, a start, an anticipated arrival of an important person, event, or object. For Christians, and especially Catholic Christians, it is the season of reflection, discernment, and anticipation for the birth of Jesus – Christmas.

“But everyone loves Christmas, and we all look forward to it. We know ‘Jesus IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON,’ but there is so much more to anticipate with joy!” Yes, that is certainly true. We all have more than one reason to look forward to Christmas; not all of us, though, are ready for the Season of Advent. This particular season of Advent is the beginning of Cycle A of the Liturgy.

Cycle A is essentially a process of preparing us for baptism and for understanding the principals behind our baptismal vows. Most of the Gospel readings are from the Gospel of Matthew. The first Sunday of Advent (which is the first Sunday of the liturgical year) uses Matthew’s account of Jesus’ warning to be vigilant because we will not know the day or hour of his return. Matthew’s Gospel covers Jesus’ ministry with emphasis on compassion and forgiveness – Mercy. Its focus is on the early Christian community among the Jews. Matthew portrays Jesus as “the New Moses,” leading his people out of the wilderness of sin and into the Promised Land of The Kingdom of God. Matthew makes sure they (and we) fully understand that Jesus is a man, a Jewish man, a son of Abraham and Israel who is the True Son of God. In this Gospel, Jesus’ followers frequently beg him for mercy. Jesus takes the Jewish leaders – the Scribes and Pharisees – to task for failing to show mercy. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us, his Disciples “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (See Matthew 5:7). Because of this theme of compassion and mercy leading to forgiveness, I’m going to include a link at the end of every Aloha Friday Message during this Advent season for Liturgical Year 2023, Cycle A (← Check it out!) that will take you to a previous post on Mercy that is posted on the MBN website.

There you have it, the background for the four Sundays of this Advent season. For each Sunday we will follow our customary practice of choosing a key verse from the readings, amplifying the meanings and background of that passage, and then – at the end of the message – there will be a “supplementary link” to allow us to reflect on the importance, the effects, and the reality of God’s Mercy in our own lives. We all know (or should know) that it is only the Mercy of Grace that makes it possible to be prepared for the return of Christ. As we prepare to welcome Christ the King as a baby during Advent, we also prepare – at least in our hearts – for the day or hour our Lord is coming, “for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” For the past 2000 years we have been waiting. During the first century after Jesus established the Church, people really believed that his coming back was imminent – during their lifetimes. Hence, the Apostle Paul frequently warned the early Church to stay vigilant, to be faithful to the Apostolic Gospel, and to be ready … to WAIT. That is what we are told to do – to watch and wait. Let’s take a quick scriptural survey of WAIT.

We wait with “constant vigilance” for the coming of Jesus first as a baby in a manger, then as the King of Kings ascending the Throne of the Cross, and now – today and until “as long as it takes” – we wait for the day and the hour he will return in Glory. Let the evil one prosper and scoff. WE know how to wait and why we’re waiting. Here’s why:

2 Peter 3:3-9 – ³First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” ⁵They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, ⁶through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. ⁷But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.
⁸But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you*, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. * Some translations read “on your account,” or “for your sake” and YES, he is coming back!

BUT GUESS WHO ELSE IS COMING TO THE BANQUET! Let me give you a few clues. First of all, we don’t have to wait for him. He’s been prowling Earth since Eden was made.

Daniel 7:25 – ²⁵He shall speak words against the Most High,
shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High,
and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law;
and they shall be given into his power
for a time, two times, and half a time.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 – ⁹The coming* of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, ¹⁰and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, ¹²so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned. *This word is παρουσία, and in this instance refers to the coming of Antichrist. In another passage it refers to the Incarnation as the First Parousia. You will also find it in Matthew 24:37-39 where Jesus informs us about “the coming of the Son of Man,” his return as promised at the Ascension. (↔ My Favorite Learning Link)

When we are called to the Banquet, it will be because we believed – and lived – what is True, that Jesus Christ is Lord. The coming of godless earthlings, transgressors of the Law of Peace in Christ Jesus, do Satan’s bidding in all their actions. They will also hear the call, but they will refuse to come, and even if they show up, they won’t be admitted to even so much as sitting at the “kid’s table” because they have refused to be God’s children. (↔ Learning Link) They heard, but did not heed, the promise For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. That Word taught us everything we need to know to be prepared from the New Jerusalem, and Satan will have prepared his children for damnation (See Revelation 20:7–10).

It is past the time for America to wake up and smell the carnage. We have seen the signs of the eschatos (ἔσχατος), the last and farthest reach of human history when all of this present reality and its darkness (↔ Click Link) will be transformed: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 – ⁵¹Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Much more will happen before that last moment comes, but during our wait we must remember to – ⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
⁷Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.” (that’s a prayer we can use) – because if we do, we will also be praying for the New Jerusalem to open its gates to issue forth the King, the Angels, and the Saints. We must not forget the warning in Zechariah 12:9 – ⁹And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Then Jesus the Lord will invite his guests into the Gates as in Revelation 21:6-8 – “To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ⁷Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸But as for the cowardly, the faithless,* the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” *faithless = unbelievers

We cannot conquer if we do not fight. (↔ Learning Link) The Foe is at the door, crouching outside the door (See Genesis 4:6-7) to barge in and destroy, but he and the Death he brings are doomed.

Every living soul is today one day closer to that moment when Time ends. That is what The Apostle Paul means when he said, “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹²the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. So, have you guessed who’s coming to the Banquet? It’s not the ones who “… speak words against the Most High, [who] shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law.” Wake up America, because it is and will be as Jesus said:Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. As we’ve said before “Be ready, get set, and WAIT!!” Waiting in Hope is what distinguishes us from those whose hope is the World, not the Lord.

When we look around us and see so much violence, hatred, suffering, senseless behaviors, death, destruction, and despair, we rest at Peace in the Hope OF Peace: Romans 15:13 – ¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. IT’S IN THE APP!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License