Aloha Friday Message – January 28, 2022 – Our Excellent Adventure

January 28, 2022

2204AFC012822 – Our Excellent Adventure 

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

      Jeremiah 1:5 – 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

   1 Corinthians 13:4-8a – 4 Love is patient; Love is kind; Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.

Luke 4:28-30 – 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea!  Garrison Keillor, the host of Minnesota Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” had a periodic series about Lake Wobegon. The opening words of the monologue usually were “Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average. It’s been a busy week in Lake Wobegon.” I bring that up because I want to share a little local news. I have mentioned I appreciate your prayers about my relentless stasis ulcer, and ask you to continue as it simply refuses to heal. In fact, there’s now a little-brother ulcer on a toe on the same foot. It’s eaten its way down to the bone. Crucita took a bad fall just before Christmas, and after a few weeks of pain and waiting for an appointment, we learned she has a fracture across the socket for her shoulder bone. Daughter Cherie was hospitalized recently with a serious case of Hepatitis B, and Timothy (who still lives on Kauaʻi) is finding that jobs for musicians are still scant despite the return of tens-of-thousands of tourists to Kauaʻi. It’s been a long week here in Kapahi Town! We thank you for your prayers and well-wishes. Things are getting better; just really, really slowly. So, enough of that stuff. We have some exciting things to look into for this coming Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jesus had just told them that his presence among them was something Israel had longed for over hundreds of years, and that they had totally missed the point. (See last week’s post 2203AFC012122 – Now hear ye the word of the Lord.) Last week just happened to be Word of God Sunday (Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as declared by Pope Francis in 2019), and our post was about getting into the Word of God deeper and better. This Sunday we will hear about how God’s Love for us is the basis of his Absolutely Perfect Plan (yes, again, it’s the APP), and it is – as the Apostle Paul calls it – “a more excellent way.” It is Love that anchors us to God, and to the plethora of blessings he has for those who Love him in return. God Loves us so much that he takes care of us and blesses us and forgives us even though he knows we can’t possibly merit the Love he gives us. It comes to us only through his Grace. You probably remember Psalm 139:1-6 – the inescapable God who knows everything we think or do or say before it happens, and he Loves us anyway; he is always near. (↔ Music Link) Reflect on that for a moment. What if that was the way Love worked with your parents, or your children, or your spouse, or your Pastor? Could they Love you that much? Could you Love them that much? Can any of us give another absolutely everything s/he needs and never even receive Love in return? “Silly Old Man! Of course not. Only God can do that.” Mostly true – only God can do that perfectly, (↔ Music Link) but we can still try to have that kind of Love, a way that is still more excellent.

The Epistle is possibly the Apostle Paul’s most famous writing – the Chapter of Love. When I read that list, it is saddening to look into my own heart and see how terribly short I have fallen from completing it. I feel so disgraced that I want to just hide. But that’s no good because of what the Psalmist says in Psalm 139:7-12 – “no matter where I go, you are there.” And in all of the places we think we can hide, he is there – still Loving us. Even when we insult him or abuse his Holy Name, he still Loves us. Jesus still Loved the folks in Nazareth even though they tried to execute him! How and why is that possible? It is possible because it is the more excellent way – God’s Way.

Can we be patient? Can we be kind? Can we give up envying, boasting, rudeness, and arrogance? Can we let others have their way even when it is painful to us? Can we be easy-going and generous despite living in hardship? Can we rejoice – always – in the Truth and always regret wrongdoing, even our own? Maybe we can here and there for a little while. But God has a more excellent way: Psalm 103:8-10 says 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast Love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. He sets the example for us to follow. As we are told in James 2:8 – 8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall Love your neighbor as yourself.” “The Royal Law” – God’s APP – can be summed up by hearing God say, “You are like me because I made you. You don’t need anything else if you live in my image and likeness.” “Piece of Pie!” we might say. NOT! It’s difficult to be like God – although some people who have the title of Celebrity would dispute that. Perhaps they misunderstood that the Gifts they have are given for sharing, not boasting?

God put into them the Gifts that could lead to fame and recognition while they  lived out God’s promise in them – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” What would you think of the idea of celebrities as Prophets? Does anyone come to mind? St. Pope John Paul II or St. Teresa of Calcutta, or (oh, my!) Ted Cruz, or Donald Trump? (↔ Click Link, SERIOUSLY) Remember, speaking what God wants us to hear is done by Prophets. Now, compare that with recent quotes by LeBron James, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi, or Joseph R. Biden. Which list of persons consistently speaks in favor of the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, or Holy Matrimony as a Sacramental joining of one male and one female for as long as each shall live? These are things that God wants all of his children to speak. Recall the words in Joel 2:28 – 28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;* your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (* “all flesh” – everyone, all mankind, all humanity, every earthling) The Apostle Peter refers to this passage in Acts 2:17 in saying – “‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, …’” Belovéd, you are a Prophet when you speak what God wants the world to hear from, by, for, and about HIM. If it’s from, by, for, or about you – it’s not prophecy. It is not the more excellent way, because Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. There’s another criterion we haven’t discussed yet:

We’re walking past it quietly as if hoping to not awaken it, but that’s unwise. What is the BIG THING we mustn’t forget in prophecy? We know it is the act of divulging what God wants to be heard, but IT ALWAYS COMES FROM GOD, NEVER EARTHLINGS. When we read the Prophets in the Old Testament, we hear “The word of the Lord came to me” or “Thus saith the Lord God.” The knowledge shared in prophecy is supernatural, originates in and for God, and portends to revelations that are mystical – perhaps knowledge of future event or understanding of past events – and it is made apparent by words or signs. There are lots of other more complicated descriptions, but this is what I want to be able for us to be able to understand:

God speaks to all of us in Creation and in his Word. When what we say and do communicates to others what God has said and done, then I (and probably it is only me) am calling that “prophetic” in the sense that it is announcing what God has said for the betterment of our souls. More precisely understood, however, is that TRUE prophecy is not only beyond human knowledge, but also it means knowing in advance about future events as revealed by God to a person he chooses. I don’t get to choose to speak as God’s representative without his direct intervention.

Are there no Prophets in the Church today? Throughout the Bible, the job of the Prophet was to get people to REPENT (↔ Music Link), to obey and Love God. Every prophecy was part of the Absolutely Perfect Plan to help earthlings understand that Jesus was on his way to bring Salvation and eventually Resurrection and Eternal Life as God had planned In The Beginning. Today’s Prophets continue that tradition of telling the Story of Jesus and his Love. Our stories, our lives, in him are HIS STORY. When we tell our story as His Story, as we continue to testify to the matchless Grace of Jesus, we continue the tradition of prophecy that started in Chapter 3 of Genesis, Verse 15 – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Did you notice God refers to the Serpent’s offspring?” Who is the Serpent?)

WHY do we still have – still need – Prophets? Look to Proverbs for the answer: Proverbs 29:18 – 18 Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law. We have much work to do! Things are going to change badly and quickly – at first and soon – before things get better. It won’t be long, if we read the signs aright, and so I again encourage you to Feast on the Word, Stand on the Promises, and practice Constant Vigilance! Suit up in your Full Armor. That glint on the horizon might not be just the sunrise. It might be the beginning of our Excellent Adventure on the Road to Glory Land. It begins and ends with Love. As I run back over that short list of descriptions in our Key Verses from The Love Chapter, I can tell you I have failed at every single one of them over and over again. His Love has never failed once. God knew me and all that I am, was, and will be from the first moment he said, “Let there be …” I am part of his Creation (you, too, Belovéd!), and all Creation rightly gives him joyful thanks and praise. The APP for that is already installed. We need to use it more often – as in always and all ways – while we walk together along this long stretch of road that leads to Home and Eternity because Love never ends. How’s that for the theme of an Excellent Adventure?

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

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

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

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

 

 

Aloha Friday Message – January 21, 2022 – Now hear ye the word of the LORD.

January 21, 2022

2203AFC012122 – Now hear ye the word of the Lord.

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     Nehemiah 8:2-4a – 2 Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. The readings for this third Sunday in Ordinary Time fit together perfectly. All of them are about hearing and learning the Word of God – today we would call it Bible study. I know some of you are regular participants in Bible study groups, and I commend you for that. I think you also probably jump feet first into the Word on your own; Scripture reading, studying, and learning are an integral part of your lives. There are a few of us who have committed Scripture to memory, and that’s terrific, too. With all of these states of being, though, it is important to put that learning to use. Of course, if you’re not learning about the Scriptures on a regular basis, if you are not challenging yourself to know what God has set forth in his APP for your edification, then you will find it difficult to grow “in wisdom and stature before God and man.” Hold up your hand if you can tell me what happens when we stop growing. I’ll wait.

There you go! Good answer! When we stop growing, we die. That is especially true when we stop growing in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom in the Word of God. It can get to the point where there’s nothing in our lives but some old dried-up bones. (↔ Music Link) I’ll bet most of us remember hearing that song long ago. It is based on the story of Ezekiel prophesying over the bones in an unnamed Valley.  Here’s the beginning of that account

Ezekiel 37:1-6 – The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath* to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath* in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” *Ruach (↔ Click Link) – breath, spirit, the Spirit of the Lord. You can read the whole story here: Ezekiel 37

The bones represent Israel whose lack of faith in and awareness of the Lord made them like dead bones. They had ignored the Lord’s word, his Law, his Covenant, and – worst of all – his Love for them. The Word of God had become unimportant, forgotten, abandoned and it was replaced by idolatrous acts of worshiping other “gods” borrowed from their pagan neighbors. Some 200 years later, they were again “voluntarily ignorant” of The Law – the Scripture that God constantly fed to them over the millennia. Today, many in this wide wicked world are not only ignorant of Scripture but also dismiss it as fairy tales, mythology, and useless to the carnality in which they are immersed. They do not hear the Word of God, the Ruach is suffocated in their day-to-day lives, and they truly do walk like the living dead among us.

There are contemporary Prophets who are warning us of the perils we face by ignoring God, by failing to protect the innocent and the marginalized, and by ignoring and even mocking the Word of God. “What we do says who we are. Actions speak louder than words.” So far, in many quarters, the response is underwhelming; nonetheless, The Spirit is a-movin’ (↔ Music Link) and many are experiencing the Power of Renewal in the Holy Spirit. Living and walking in the Spirit is ahhhhhhhMAZing! If you’re there, you know what I mean. If you’re not there you might want to check your bones to see if they’ve dried out. When we move in the Holy Spirit, Great Things Happen! (↔ Music Link) In our Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus is moving in the power of the Spirit and a truly great thing happens. He announces he is the Messiah!

When Jesus went to Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, he read from the scroll of Isaiah, sat down, and then told everyone in the synagogue that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” To compare what he read with what he said, check out these two links: Isaiah 61 ↔ Luke 4:16-21 (Go ahead. It won’t take long, and you’ll be enriched by seeing how the passages fit together so well.) Jesus is, as we see in the selection from John 8 below, the Light of the World.” (↔ Music Link) After he sent us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, taught us to understand how We are the Light of the World. (↔ Music Link)

Luke 4:14-15 – 14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned* to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. *Returned from his 40 days of fasting in the desert.

Luke 4:21 – 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

This didn’t go over very well in his home town of Nazareth. They heard the Word of God from God Himself, and rejected it. “Who does he think he is, carrying on like that? Moses? Ezekiel? How about Yeshua ben-Yosef? The kid was full of strange ideas after his dad brought him back from Egypt. What makes him think he is ‘the light of the world’?”

John 8:12 – 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Here again, Scripture points to those who treasure and obey God’s commandments as in Psalm 112:4 – 4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. Jesus echoes this when he says in Matthew 5:14-16 – 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” This is the fulfillment of God’s reason for choosing Israel as his particular people peculiarly his own – to be a light to the nations and show the entire World how great and loving and just and powerful and wise their God is. YES! There’s an APP for that, and that’s how it works whenever you use it. The APP is based in Scripture, and if you don’t know Scripture, you don’t know … what you’re missing.

Maybe some of us are waiting for a man like Ezra or Nehemiah to show up and help us out with that. There are plenty of true Prophets out there in The World who are telling us the content and importance of the Word of God. There are also plenty of false Prophets turning the Word of God into a get-rich-quick book, or who will say that Yeshua ben Yosef was a pretender to the throne of Israel and convinced many people that he was the Messianic continuation of the Abrahamic Covenant. Our ability to discern among the defenders versus the pretenders in the Christian Life is based on our willingness and ongoing commitment to stay grounded in the Word. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (See 1 Corinthians 12:3b); but how about the other folks who just can’t make the connection? How do we help them hear the word of God? Through faith we live the Word. (See Romans 10:17 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.) As you read that, I hope that in the back of your mind you’re hearing St. Francis say, “Preach the Gospel constantly, and when necessary, use words.”

We might object to that by claiming not to be able to witness or evangelize – just don’t have the skills for it. I would ask, “Have we tried?” Just for practice, repeat after me:

Me……………………..You
Jesus is Lord……….Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is Lord……….Jesus is Lord
Jesus is Lord…….…Jesus is Lord

Repeat ad lib until you are convinced you absolutely believe that is the Truth and part of the APP – the Absolutely Perfect Plan of God. “But, I’m such an outlaw, a real sinner, and I just can’t get over it.” Here’s something the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. See 2 Corinthians 4:2-4 – 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Repeat after me (same format):

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE Gospel ……… REPENT AND BELIEVE THE Gospel.

How will that help? IF we get connected and stay connected to the Scriptures, we will find they put the Ruach into us, and we just can’t help but testify to the Wonderful Grace of Jesus. (↔ Music Link) We can choose to be blind to that Grace, or we can be immersed in it like this:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound (↔ Music Link)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

If you never open that Precious Book, it probably won’t speak to you. Open it! Try it. You’ll like it when you “Hear Ye the Word of the Lord.” No more dry bones for us! We have the Word of God as our Banquet Feast.

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

IMPORTANT UPDATES ON THE IPL.

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

Creative Commons License
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 – January 14, 2022 – The Nexus of Preeminence

January 14, 2022

2202AFC011422 – The Nexus of Preeminence

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

John 2:5 – 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! 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. This coming Sunday is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is the Sunday when we first hear of Jesus’ first miracle at the Wedding Feast in Cana in Galilee. Jesus, his mom, and some (perhaps all) of his Disciples were there. We know the story pretty well – the wedding party was running low on wine and Mary – speaking as a good Jewish mother should – casually mentions “They have no wine.” Jesus’ reply reminds me a bit of what he said around age 12 when Joseph and Mary finally found him in the Temple. “Why were you looking for me? I need to be doing my Father’s works.” This time his reply is “Woman,* what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Now, in my mind’s eye I imagine Jesus saying that with a big grin because he knew he would give in to his Mother and he knew just how to resolve the issue. * ishshah – a term of respect. Adam gave this name to Eve, and Jesus used this word to refer to his Mother as he was about to die on the cross – “Woman, behold your son…”

It is the conversion of water to wine – and not just a glass or two of wine! John tells us “Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.” (See John 2:6)

The Greek word used here makes this measure quite impressive. The word is metrētas  – a measure equivalent to about 39.39 liters or 8.75 gallons. The Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) describes the jars as “containing two or three firkins apiece.” A “firkin” in terms of size, is equal to 9 imperial gallons, which is 10.8 US gallons; 2-3 firkins then would be 21.6 to 31.8 gallons and average of 26.7 gallons. SIX of those would come to just over 160 gallons of first-class wine! He made 160 gallons of water into 160 gallons of wine. (We don’t know if it was Chablis or Merlot – or even what color or taste it had – because that is unimportant.) Ordinary things done in ordinary ways become extraordinary when we do what he tells us.

When Jesus sent the servants to get approval for the wine, the headwaiter was amazed at the quality. Not only had Jesus supplied in quantity, but also in quality! That is how he does everything when we do what he tells us. And there’s something else, too. He used just simple things even at a BIG wedding. How is this miracle indicative of Jesus’ power? We’ll look at a rather long passage here that tells us about his “job qualifications.”

Colossians 1:15-20 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place* in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

*Preeminence = prōteuōn to have the first place, highest-ranking, before and above all others, distinguished above all, supreme without equal. Several translations use this word preeminent or preeminence. Others read supremacy, or first place, hence the title King All-Glorious. (↔ Music Link)

The Apostle Paul is telling us that Jesus, as the Son of God, has the same preeminence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He says for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created and all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus is the nexus that connects all things. A nexus, you will recall, is a single connection, or even a series of connections, linking two or more things; the central and most important point or place, the connection between a person or group of persons. Jesus is the connection between God and Man – the One Mediator for Salvation. He is God. He is Man – an earthling like all the rest of us in all things except sin. (See Hebrews 4:14-15).

God is. “I AM THAT I AM” is one way to say that. But our Swiss-cheesy little brains want more – “God is what???” God is Preeminent. He is the first IN EVERYTHING. First to exist, first to create, first to deserve honor and worship and praise, first to be exalted, the ultimate authority on and in and over everything, the head of all that is or was or will be or can be. And if that isn’t enough to convince you that God knows what’s what, he gave us his Only Begotten Son so that Jesus could be preeminent not only in Scripture, but also in our hearts, our minds, our souls, our entire existence in Life. Jesus is Priest, Prophet, King, and Redeemer – Jesus and Jesus only. But woe to us if we think Jesus came to Earth and conquered sin and death just for our Salvation! I’m going to ask you to take a quick detour to this passage (I’ll quote parts of it here, but check it out; it’s IMPORTANT):

Please follow this link to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. The whole chapter is mind-blowing in the towering theological truths it presents, but the passage here is something we can spend hours mulling over. As you read this longish passage, pay special attention to the last two verses: 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 – 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the One who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. There’s going to be a reunion!

Think about that first question God asked Adam when he found him hiding in the bushes: “WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED?” That acknowledgement of disobedience marked the beginning of Man being separated from God by “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.” What is that fruit? Probably it was not an apple; probably it was instead the first application of Free Will for the gratification of ego and flesh. The promise of Salvation that came into being immediately wasn’t a solution for the potential damnation of souls. It was the beginning of the process that ultimately restores the relationship between God and Man. There were some hard lessons learned that day in Eden. Do you remember how God provided for protection of their bodies?

It’s in Genesis 3:21 – 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. Now the animals of the field would serve for food and for clothing and shelter, and the harmony between the earthlings and the animals was dissolved into fear. He covered their nakedness for the sake of their decency. Some have explained this in a manner perhaps unlikely: Adam and Eve were immortal spiritual beings formed from the earth, but after their betrayal of God’s trust, he made their bodies and skin mortal like those of the other animals. Regardless of the conclusions we might draw from this passage, God marked them as changed from the nature of their creation.

Jesus Christ has come to us, as the first-fruits of the dead (See 1 Corinthians 15:20), to restore us to the immortal friendship and communion with God. He is God, and he is preeminent in all things but sin. When we are finally altogether subjected and all together united in him, he will submit himself and us to the Father so that unity will be restored to the ultimate fundamental Oneness of I AM THAT I AM. That whole chain of events, that nexus of all created things and beings, happens in the blink of God’s eye. It only seems to us to be taking much longer because we are not seeing Life through God’s eyes. That deep a mystery is too lofty for us and our simple thinking. Nonetheless, we have some markers along the road that will help us in that journey. (↔ Music Link)

  1. We know that God is preeminent in all things. That leads us to understand that he must also be preeminent in our lives.
  2. Jesus is part of the nexus that will restore us to immortality and reunion with God. Recall that at the Baptism of the Lord, “the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” The path back into the “Eden of Eternity” was no longer closed. (See Matthew 3:14-17)
  3. It is often said, “There is no Easter without a Calvary.” We must also remember that there is no Easter without the Tomb. Jesus Christ is preeminent in this as well. The Bible lists several people who were “raised from the dead,” but none of them were resurrected. All of those people eventually died again. Only Christ “rose again from the dead.” That should not confuse us. It simply means “Jesus was alive, then he was dead, then he was alive again.” The tomb, the grave, the urn – wherever our mortal remains are gathered together – that is part of the Long Road Home, too. Jesus endured that part of our journey, too, so once again he is preeminent.
  4. In God’s APP (remember that’s the Absolutely Perfect Plan) everything is connected to everything and to everyone all the time until Time is no longer relevant. If ever we feel we are disconnected from God, it is not God who has moved or let go. It is our nature to forget that we are HIS creation, and he is not ours.

God is God because that is the Beginning and End of … you name it, it fits. He made all the rules because he made all of Creation. When we follow the rules in the APP, we travel from conception to natural death with minimal disruptions. If we disobey, mock, ignore the rules enough, there is literally all hell to pay. That’s the way the APP works. Who was asking, “WHY?” I’ll give you the answer I always got from my parents and I’m pretty sure it’s the way God, as a Parent (and Brother, and Companion), would answer it: “BECAUSE I SAID SO.”

That’s good enough for me!

That brings us to this: 1 John 1:11 – 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

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

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

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

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

 

Aloha Friday Message – January 7, 2022 – In the Beginning

January 7, 2022

2201AFC010722 – In the Beginning

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

   Genesis 1:2 – 2 The earth was barren,
with no form of life;
it was under a roaring ocean
covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of God
was moving over the water.

Isaiah 40:11 – 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; (↔ Music Link)
    he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.

Isaiah 42:1 – 1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Luke 3:21-22 – 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Here we are already, composing the first post of 2022! It is the 840th post in the first 1,000. Here, at the beginning of another year we celebrate on this coming Sunday the Baptism of the Lord. For many of us, our baptism occurred around the beginning of our lives – baptized as infants. Jesus was an adult – perhaps around 30 years old – when he convinced John the Baptist to baptize him. It is for this reason that I have chosen so many verses from the readings for this celebration. The first verse up there – the one from Genesis – isn’t among those proclaimed on this Sunday in this cycle, C; but it serves as a good lead in to today’s discussion. Let’s begin with the meaning of baptism.

Just as a quick refresher, this word is from baptizó in Greek. It means to submerge or immerse, to dip under, and is usually used in the context of ceremonial washing or cleansing as a sign of repentance and the promise of absolution. This use of the word is based on a derivative of bapto – to dip, to make fully wet. As with the Earth from which we are made, our life begins in water – in the womb – and continues outside the womb in the dipping into or sprinkling with water. Not only is the outside of the body refreshed and cleansed, but also the spirit within us is refreshed and cleansed. Our baptism causes us to be thoroughly soaked inside and out. We are saturated with the water of Life and the water of the Holy Spirit. We are shaped and formed by the moving of the wind of God – the Ruach Elohim, the Spirit of the Living God (↔ Music Link) – and our life in God begins in much the same way as Life began In The Beginning (↔ Music Link).

The Baptism of the Lord signified a beginning for him as well. Immediately afterward he underwent his own period for intense formation with forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert. One of our Key Verses for today is Isaiah 42:1 – 1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. This prophecy brings to mind some of the events in the Baptism of the Lord. First, God has called Jesus as his servant,, and Jesus uses that idea to convince John that it is proper for John to baptize him even though John knows Jesus is the Messiah.  (See Matthew 3:15). God tells us through Isaiah that he upholds him – holds him closely and firmly – because he is The Chosen. In this chosen Servant, God finds delightful satisfaction, and therefore he will place his Spirit upon him (immerse and saturate him with the Spirit of God). Thus prepared to do the will of El Shaddai-Olam, he will bring justice – judgment and rectitude in righteousness – to the nations. All Peoples in all Places will benefit from the work this Servant does in the Name of the Lord. He will be the Good Shepherd.

In Jesus’ own words he told us in John 10:11 – 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” God is rather fond of shepherds. Have you ever wondered why? It began – as all things do – in The Beginning. You’ll find Abel, a man who tended flocks, giving an offering to God. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s – who was his older brother – offering. Cain got very angry and ultimately committed the first recorded murder – he killed his little brother. (See Genesis 4:1-9) Take our first Key Verse for example. What tenderness there is in the shepherd who carries the lamb in his arms and leads the ewes with care! Little lambs have a lot of energy, but they also tire easily. When they are moving with the flock as they graze, the little guys sometimes get tuckered out and just can’t go any farther, so they can’t keep up with their mamas. The good shepherd will pick up that little one and carry it for a while

The Good Shepherd

so it can rest without being left behind. As for the ewes, especially those still carrying their progeny, they must be led with care – slowly, with an eye toward safe paths, gentle slopes, adequate water, and gradually move the flock so as not to endanger their lives. There is more about shepherds at 1718AFC050517 – Seeds and Sheep. Sometimes a ewe will reject her lamb (as Israel rejected the Lamb of God and, even worse these days, so do innumerable people – Christian and non-Christian), so the shepherd forms a special bond with that rejected lamb (Video Link!) and cares for it himself.

Belovéd, shall we not long to be like that lamb and be held in the arms of the Good Shepherd? When we are lost in the desert cliffs, injured, alone, frightened, how consoling it is to know the Good Shepherd is reaching out to us to rescue us, take us home, dress our wounds, and wash us clean! What a Friend We Have in Jesus! (↔ Music Link)

I don’t know if you’ve ever had an opportunity to watch baby goats and lambs play (Video Link!), but they can certainly be spirited! It’s the beginning of Life for them, and they are full of the newness of energy and motion. That’s the feeling we can get inside (and outside!) of us when we repent and confess our sins (See 1 John 1:9 – that’s one of my favorite memory verses!) the One who is faithful and just (who will bring forth justice to the nations) FORGIVES us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (inside and out so we are immersed and saturated with him!). that leads us to a little story for our closing from 1615AFC040616 – An Ocean of Grace  –  #9: Series on Virtue and Sin:

The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end. The Grace of God is the ocean of His Love. He is the source of the Ocean of Grace. When you acknowledge Him, it is as if you are submersed in a vast ocean being fed by a fountain of purest water. You are standing in that fountain in the center of the center of the Crystal Sea drinking from a crystal cup of the Endless Grace and Love, and this is available to every human soul alive today in Heaven and on Earth who chooses to stand in the Grace of God .  This is “so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” And that’s the TRUTH! I am indebted for the following story to Steve Brown founder of Key Life Broadcasts (↔ Click Link) – Stave gave me permission to share this.

Once there was a fish who lived in the great ocean and, because the water was transparent and always conveniently got out of the way of his nose when moved along, he didn’t know he was in the ocean. Well, one day the fish did a very dangerous thing. He began to think: “Surely I am a most remarkable being since I can move around like this in the middle of empty space.” Then the fish became confused because of thinking about moving and swimming, and he suddenly had an anxiety attack and thought he had forgotten how to move about.

At that moment he looked down and saw the yawning chasm of the ocean depths, and he was terrified that he would drop. Then he thought: “If I could catch hold of my tail in my mouth, I could hold myself up.” And so he curled himself up and snapped at his tail. Unfortunately, his spine was not quite supple enough so he missed. As he went on trying to catch hold of his tail, the yawning black abyss below became ever more terrible, and he was brought to the edge of a total nervous breakdown. The fish was about to give up when the ocean, which had been watching with mixed feelings of pity and amusement, said, “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” said the fish, “I’m terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I’m trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up.”

So the ocean said, “Well, you’ve been trying that for a long time now, and still you have not fallen down. How come?”

“Oh, of course, I haven’t fallen down yet,” said the fish, “because … Well, because I’m swimming!”

“Well,” came the reply, “I am the Great Ocean where you swim, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim, but here you are, instead of exploring the length, breath, depth and height of my expanse, you have been wasting your time pursuing you own end.”

From then on, the fish put his own end behind him where it belonged … And set out to explore the ocean.

Belovéd, let’s get down on our knees and get soaked in the Ocean of Living Water! We will be “swimming in” the ocean of God’s Good Graces! Every time we do that we get A New Beginning (↔ Music Link) and we can offer God a morning sacrifice of Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Praise. If we are attentive, we shall hear, “You are my child, my Beloved; with you I am well pleased. And he will carry us in his bosom while carefully leading the unborn and their mothers to safety and rest. And now, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,  who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,  to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (See Galatians 1:3-5)

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

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

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

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

 

Aloha Friday Message – December 31, 2021 – A Precious Jewel From Heaven

December 31, 2021

2153AFC123121 – A Precious Jewel From Heaven – An Aloha Friday Gift

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

      Isaiah 60:5-6 – 5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Psalm 116:12-18 – 12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people

1 Peter 2:7 – 7 To you then who believe, he is precious*; but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner stone”
* Precious – in Hebrew yaqar (yaw-kawr’) – precious, rare, splendid. In Greek timé (tee-may’) – a valuing, a price Usage: a price, of the honor which one has by reason of rank and state of office which he holds as in deference, reverence

“An’ POW! That’s all she wrote!” Thanks be to God 2021 is over. It won’t be long until this pandemic is endemic and the world settles in for the next crisis. So many people have lost so much in the past two years. Incredible weather phenomena (ma-na-ma-na!); despicable violence; tortuous contentions in politics, religion, and even science! Heresies abound, the courts are dealing with the life and death of innocents (↔ Click Link), the nation is struggling to cope with the largest numbers of immigrants ever witnessed, a war “ended” but still lingers on in oppression and terror, and the “gods” of many people around the world have been sidelined with COVID-19 VIRUS, nearly 5.5 MILLION (↔ Click Link) people have died – about 2% of the 282,356,994 infections recorded. The vaccine crusade is floundering in some parts of the world and we’re finding out that it’s probably going to take more vaccinations to get this to simmer down enough to go back to work. So much has been lost – most of it precious to us like family, friends, businesses, homes, perhaps even nations (e.g., Haiti), and yet the 2021 spending record for the “Holiday Season” was way higher than anyone predicted and ended up somewhere in the neighborhood of $859 BILLION. Just as impressive is the degree of kindness and charity we see as thousands pitch in to help the millions of persons displaced or reporting incredible damages to property and life. World-wide areas of drought have crippled farming in some locations endangering food reserves. Supply-chain backups are costing millions and there’s no end in sight. And we still have the 2022 midterm elections to suffer through. Nonetheless, we take time this Sunday (and I’m hoping every Sunday) to rejoice in the presence of our Jewel from Heaven.

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 (↔ Click Link), 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 as I have loved (↔ Click Link) you,” and to “let your light shine (↔ Click Link) 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 appearance, the revealing – of Christ to the World by recalling the visit of the Magi (↔ Click Link). 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” 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 (↔ Click Links) 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. 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.

God bless you in this year of 2022! May he bless you with an irresistible affinity for HIM and an irrepressible commitment to Love others as he has loved you. You are the light of the World, the salt of the Earth, the hope of things to come. When I love you as HE loves you, his Love is multiplied. When you love him as I love you, his love is multiplied again. When you love me as he loves you, his love is multiplied. When we give all of that love back to El Shaddai-Olam, his love is multiplied. When our Gift to him is all of that love we have multiplied, his Gift to us is the Light and Life of the Word.

Let us pray: Almighty Triune God, our El Shaddai-Olam, our gift to you today is the love you gave us which we then multiplied in the love we give to others, the lovely and lovable people you gave to us to love. Our love for them and our love for you is our thanks-gift to you today. Grant that this gift may increase so that it will be more fitting tomorrow. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

We have said an epiphany is an expected arrival, 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 “AH-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!

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. 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. In the Nicene Creed it is summed up like this:

For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death, and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

In Latin, that phrase “for our sake” is etiam pro nobis. It might also be translated “he was crucified even for us. For something like 50 years, that is the way I have thought of that part of his life and that part of our creed – “even for us” who repent and sin only to repent and sin again, and again, and again. Even the best among us – whom we admire for their saintly righteousness and service to God through service to their fellow earthlings – even they still fall under that phrase “even for us.” Everything that has anything to do with “Salvation From On High” was done, became reality, and miraculously was set into place “even for us.” Here’s the thing to learn from the Feast of the Epiphany and the Visit of the Magi:

The “us” in “even for us” is all of us. Christians know that Jesus lived, and died, and rose from the dead to free every living soul from sin, including the ones who want nothing to do with that whole scenario. 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 the entire 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, Balthazar, and Melchior. It does matter quite a 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.

What we have lost in the past two years is infinitesimally small compared to the richness of the Jewel from Heaven more precious than all the gems, all the cattle on a thousand hills,(↔ Music Link) the wealth in every mine, more precious tha all the gold in them that hills. This extraordinary Jewel from Heaven is a gift from Our Father. Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift. For Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice. Then you will sing joyfully What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of Salvation and call on the name of the Lord. O Lord, I am your servant; I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. Precious in our hearts is the showing forth – long expected arrival (↔ Music Link) – of the Son of God. O, come – let us adore him. (↔ Music Link) more precious still is the death of the Christ “even for us.”

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – December 24, 2021 – It’s All In The Family

December 24, 2021

2152AFC122421 – It’s all in the family

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

1 Samuel 1:26-28 – 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”

She left him there for the Lord.

Luke 2:51-52 – 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! And Merry Christmas leading to a Happy New Year – or, as we say around here, Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʽoli Makahiki Hou, ʻŌmea! This coming Sunday – December 26, 2021 – we celebrate The Holy Family. And what a family it was! Today we will look at a few ways we can and cannot be like them.

Let’s start with the most obvious: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were not ordinary people. Joseph was a construction worker – perhaps primarily in carpentry – in a small village in Northern Israel called Nazareth, a community in Lower Galilee. Mary was a teenager, a young woman pledged to Joseph and planning on being his wife when God revealed to her that she was to be the Mother of HIS SON. Her child would be called Jesus – Yeshua – the Son of God. Jesus came into this world fully-human and fully-divine, certainly no ordinary child with that kind of family background! Joseph took on the role of protector and Prophet by being the foster father for Jesus and confirming Mary’s fiat to raise God’s only begotten Son. Only God and his angels knew this part of the story. The rest of the World did not, and that is because of all of the ways their family was like ouR families – at least, how our families should be.

One of the attributes of the Holy Family which we rarely discuss is HONOR. Mary honored God’s Sovereignty and request with her fiat. Just as a refresher, that Latin word means and immediate compliance and acknowledgment of an authoritative command or request. Mary’s reply was “Let it be done with me according to your word.” Her compliance was complete and unreserved; she held nothing back from God but rather surrendered every aspect of her life to his Will. Joseph honored God’s request to be the protector for Mary and Jesus and to live a productive life doing the work he was trained to do to provide for his small family. Mary reared and weaned her baby, washed him, changed his diapers, sang to him, taught him stories, and – together with Joseph, her chaste spouse – she Loved Jesus and showed him how to show love to others. Joseph provided food, shelter, and protection for his family. Mary cooked and cleaned for her family. Jesus learned and grew for his family, and he was obedient to his parents.

Obedience is another way we see the Holy Family is like our families. Children are to obey their parents. You’ll recall we discussed Ephesians 6:1 – 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. That is echoed in Colossians 3:20 – 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. One of the earliest memories I have is of my first-grade Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Wright having us memorize Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents (in the Lord), for this is right. My mom used to love to tell the story of the first time I recited this verse in her class. When I said it, it came out, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for Mrs. Wright.”

Honor and obedience are clearly attributes that are important to God. Think of the Ten Commandments (Hebrew mitsvah commands, ordinances). The first three teach us how to love and respect God who reveals himself to us in the ways we commune with him. The Fourth Commandment begins a “package” of 7 additional commandments about how we are to live in ways that convey the virtue of charity – Love – in our relationships with others. Commandments 1 – 3 are about Loving and serving God while commandments 4 – 10 are about loving and serving one another. Looking back at Ephesians 6, verses 2-3 say 2 “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise: 3 “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” What does that mean, “the first commandment with a promise?” It refers back to Deuteronomy 5:16 – 16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There are actually three promises there – long life, success, and the Lands promised to Abraham for a permanent dwelling place. Ah, but there’s where things go a bit awry. The Hebrews – later knows as Israel – were to KEEP the Ten Commandments and to be “a light to the nations.” As we well know, they failed at that repeatedly; nonetheless God treated them fairly, with discipline and forgiveness.

Here we see another way God intends for us to live as families – fairly with discipline (which differs from punishment) and lovingly with forgiveness. I submit that it is impossible to be fair in discipline without honor and obedience from the children for their parents and honor and devotion from the parents for their children. A family cannot do the work of “being family” without those connections of respect, Love, honor, and obedience. Now, this brings us to what I hope will be a vast difference between the Holy Family and our families: Respect.

One of my pet peeves is the adage “Respect must be earned.” I vehemently object to that. If it were true that respect could be earned, that makes it a commodity that can be bought and sold, traded for or denied. “No,” I say, genuine respect must be a Gift that is always available to everyone we love (remember that included enemies and persecutors). If the Gift of Respect is received, it is automatically returned by the adage “Respect the Giver by Accepting the Gift.” In what way is that markedly different in the Holy Family? I don’t think anyone has ever pictured Jesus as a smart-mouthed teenager showing his parents disrespect by lying to them, stealing from them, deceiving them about his activities … well, you get the picture. I am constantly amazed by videos we see of little children – kids 2-6 years; old – asked by a parent or caregiver “Did you eat the candy?” (or use the lipstick, or shave the dog or sibling) and this supposedly innocent child lies while clearly covered in chocolate, lipstick, or dog hair! Where do kids learn that? From their parents? Probably not (although the “naughty words” kids know are most like from parents or older siblings). This is the result, I am convinced, of Original Sin, and even when a child has been baptized, that propensity for sin remains – in our families, but not in the Holy Family. They were AND ARE HOLY. We may aspire to be like Jesus, but we cannot be Jesus for our parents; and our parents cannot be Joseph and Mary. We are all imperfect. The Holy Family was not.

BUT WE CAN BE BETTER AS PARENTS AND CHILDREN! How do we start, and more importantly, how do we keep it going? Can we give our lives to God as completely as Mary did? (↔ Music Link)

Honor, Obedience, Respect, Trust, Discipline, and Knowledge. All of these traits, these Virtues, are learned. God teaches them to us through his Commandments, his Messengers the Prophets and Judges, and through his Word, the B.I.B.L.E. Parents need to learn and model these. Ideally, those who are parents now should have learned that from their parents. If you look around these days, that clearly has not happened as extensively as necessary. Parents have the responsibility of being the first teachers of their children and this cannot and should not be pawned off on school teachers, Sunday School teachers, Scout Masters, or even Priests and Religious. It is the PARENTS’ role, and that requires a Mom and a Dad in a traditional family who keep these virtues alive in their own hearts.

You see, it’s all in the family – as God has always intended!! These days we have substituted artificial virtues like “inclusion” and “love is always love.” I’ve spoken before about including unrepentant rebels in our fellowship as Church including people who are obviously, publicly, and unrepentantly living in grave sin. We have refused to humble ourselves, to love justice and mercy, and to serve one another, preferring instead to serve our selves. “Trust your heart,” we say. FALSE!! Trust Jesus!! The outcomes are much better!

It’s All In The Family because God created and ordained family life as part of the Natural Law that all earthlings can observe and accept – free will in action again. Check out 2148AFC120321 – Are. You. READY? again. Just click on that link and find the paragraph that starts with “God created everything.” The entirety of Creation follows ONE Law – God’s Law, and that’s a whole lot more than the Ten Commandments. It’s everything from quarks to strings to dark matter and black holes to stars and galaxies with solar systems that support planets and living creatures. That is the Glory of God! (↔ Music Link) In my mind I keep returning to that quote from C. S. Lewis – “A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” Saying that “love is always love,” and “inclusion'” extends to the flagrantly unrepentant professed Christians is in the same category: It is cuckoo. If you look at the mess our World is in right now, nearly all of it comes from failing to respect God and each other.

The “Human Family” is not the World Family. True Family is – we repeat – created and ordained by God. Any counterfeit model of God’s plan is simply a failure to live with Honor, Obedience, Respect, Trust, Discipline, and Knowledge. For that last objective in the goal of “Living As God Commands,” I refer you to the passage below which we have seen in parts throughout 2021. So, do we just give up on these people, abandon them? Of course we would never stop witnessing to them by living as God ordains, and we will always evangelize to them, but if they choose to ignore all the evidence, what do we do? We do what God does. I’d ask you to look at Romans 1:16-32. (↔ Click Link) The whole text will be in the online version of this post, but you can get there quickly by using this link. God has set an example for us. Honestly I’m too chicken to ignore that example because I can see where it leads. REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!

ʻŌmea, It’s All In The Family if the Family is ALL in God. Remember, “Where you sit depends on where you stand,” so Stand On The Promises! (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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

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

Special information for online readers:
As Promised, here is the passage from Romans:

Romans 1:16-32 – The Power of the Gospel

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

The Guilt of Humankind

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Scary stuff indeed!!

 

 

Aloha Friday Message – December 17, 2021 – A Bouquet of Doozies (Part 2)

December 17, 2021

2150AFC121021 – A Bouquet of Doozies (Part 2) THIS ON IS SHORTER THAN #1

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

This one has a bouquet of Music Links included. It’s almost impossible these days to just play a music link without those ridiculous ads holding you for ransom. Here’s a way to avoid having to listen to them. This little photo shows you approximately where to place your cursor (or curser, if you really dislike the ads). When you open a (↔ Music Link), just position your cursor at about this position just above the Theater Mode and Full Screen icons. DON’T RIGHT CLICK ON THE START ICON! Just hold your cursor there for 5-7 seconds and the Skip Ads button should show up. Right-click it and your video should run. Now, let’s get on with finishing this two-part retrospective.

↑↑↑OUR REFERENCE GUIDE, THE B.I.B.L.E.↑↑↑

Because of the incessant demands on our time in keeping up with medical appointments, I’ve had to build 2 new posts out of a collection of old posts, hence, the name A Bouquet of Doozies. I’ve gone through Advent posts from 2011 through 2020 looking at messages from the second or third weeks in Advent. From those I’ve chosen a paragraph or two – in most instances – that were characteristic of the content. There are a couple of places where I have asked you to go off-site and do a little sleuthing on your own. At the head of each paragraph is a link to carry you to that source-post. We’ll try this for this last time, and then things should be “back to normal.”

1650AFC120916 – Rejoice already! Remember we recently looked into why the roads were made straight, the mountains leveled, and the valleys filled? That’s because Emmanuel is coming, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. (See 1 Timothy 6:12-15 and Revelation 19:16 – seriously, look them up) Isn’t that something? God is coming to us. Talk about A-MAZ-ING!! What if your Pastor started your church service Sunday morning by saying, “I want everyone here to be on your best behavior today because we are expecting a Very Special Guest. In just a few minutes, this person will be right here with us; in fact, he is already among us, but you may not have recognized him. He looks and sounds just like us, but he’s not from around here. No, he’s from someplace far, far away and more splendorous than the most beautiful places on Earth. Brothers and Sisters, lift up your hearts and hands and voices to welcome ….. (drum roll and trumpet fanfare) …(↔ Music Links!)
And here is …..

Well, who do you think is coming? The Corner Stone the Builders Rejected (↔ Music Link). Yes, so don’t worry about anything because even the deserts and the mountains and the seas and all the People of the Earth are going to be glad! We don’t want to miss out on rejoicing about that!

That is such a great word – REJOICE. When I hear it I hear it as re-joys as in joys again, and again, and again. One of the best JOY words around is Halleluiah and its alternative Alleluia. We are to be an Alleluia People! What does that word mean? It means GOD BE PRAISED. We used to sing a song about that. (↔ Music Link) We’d be divided into two groups – boys and girls, left-side and right-side, children and adults – and on the Halleluiah phrases one group would stand. When Praise ye the Lord came up the Halleluiah group sat down and the second group stood up. There was a lot of “jumping up and down.” Rejoicing is like that. It’s just being so happy that we simply can’t sit still. (↔ Music Link)

1749AFC120817 – Waiting for God He created the universe and put me in it (you too, Belovéd). He provided for my salvation. He called me to be his servant. He put me where I could learn everything I needed to know about him and what to do with that knowledge. When I finally started paying attention to all that he had already done, I had to reassess my plans. OK, not just reassess my plans, not just rethink my plans, but pretty much dump my plans and get on board with his. Compared to what he had laid out, my goals and objectives were worse than silly. They would end up taking me in the wrong direction – farther away from God instead of closer to God. I realized I had become one of those people whose prayer was, “What are you waiting for, God? Just do it already!” I was not paying attention; he had already done everything. I simply ignored most of it. (See also 1139AFC093011 – The Corner)

1750AFC121517 – Light and Darkness   In the past several weeks, we’ve seen way too much of what happens when you shut out the Light. Many people, especially several previously-powerful men, have had their dark deeds exposed. They are all rightfully disgraced for their lewd and greedy sexual immorality (fornication). We are rightfully all disgusted with what we are learning about their actions in the past. It seems no one is exempt from this darkness or the Light that is now shining on it. At this point I don’t believe anyone can accurately predict what the final outcome will be for some of the most famous people in the Nation. We know, though, that the Light has overcome the darkness, and that this is explained well in Scripture. I am going to give you a link, and trust you will follow it. OR you can use the link for this section and read the entire post. You will find comparative translations here: Ephesians 5:3-20

1849AFC113018 – 2018 Advent Series #2 – The Messianic Psalms: This is a week-long Bible-study outline. The challenge is to read what’s in the Table presented over the course of a week; but if you’re feeling intrigued, I happen to know you can do it in just one day!

1949AFC120619 – It’s the Same Old Story These posts are the stories of my story with Jesus and his Church. It is a way for me to testify about how God has shaped my life – given me my life. Sometimes I get to share your stories – especially your prayer requests (which is one of the main reasons we have this outlet on the Internet). Music has always been a top activity in my story. From marching around the room to Big John and Sparky with Yehudi, to the 12-inch 78 rpm records my Gramma gave me, to the coral-colored transistor radio I got in the seventh grade, to the Children’s Choir and Sunday School, and Concert Choir, the Folk Song Club, my guitar and dulcimer, always, always, always there is music, music, music. That strange little guy in the back right-hand corner of my brain is always playing something. If there is music coming , I cannot help but listen to it. That is especially true if it is music related in any form or fashion to His Story – the story of Jesus. So, Belovéd, I’m going to risk sending you into the listening booth. If you’re at work, you might want to find your ear-buds; however, if you are at home or at the beach or in the mountains, go ahead and PUMP UP THE VOLUME!!

Tell Me the Old, Old Story (↔ Music Link) From the Corona and Two-by-Two days
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus (↔ Music Link) I still sing this one when I need pepping up
I Love to Tell the Story (↔ Music Link) I like the traditional arrangement better than the contemporary, overly orchestrated versions
Tell Me The Story Of Jesus (↔ Music Link) A close relative of my pep-up song
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (↔ Music Link) Gramma’s favorite was The Old Rugged Cross
Shadrach (↔ Music Link) I sang Armstrong’s version for years.
Blessed Assurance (↔ Music Link) This and Jesus Loves Me are great ways to start your day, remember?

1950AFC121319 – The Power of Patience – “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is ‘timing.’ It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles, and in the right way.” ― Fulton J. Sheen

In today’s world, feelings are more important than truth. The World takes delight in shaming and persecuting us; nonetheless, we can – and must – endure this through firmly-declared and patient Truth. DO we want to be liked more than we want to be truthful? How easily we have forgotten that nothing, nothing in this World is worth dying for! Only that which is beyond the muck and smut of the World is worth dying for because only those things are worth living for. James 5:7 – 7 Be 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.

2050AFC121120 – 2020 Advent Series #3 Proverbs 9:9 – 9 Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous and they will gain in learning. You’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating: Isaiah 30:21 – 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Here, then, is my question – preceded by some information leading to a summary. We started out with the idea of rejoicing – this is, after all, Gaudete Sunday we are planning for. We saw that there is Wisdom in rejoicing when the cause of our rejoicing is our commitment in the Life given to us through the Grace of Salvation in Christ Jesus when we repent and believe the good news. John the Baptist testified to that Power of Grace by saying, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” When sin is removed, death is removed, and that leaves only LIFE. We can pursue that life, sail through that life, enjoy that life, and extend that life by navigating with the best tool for directing that life: Wisdom, the Wisdom to know, accept, and Love Christ Jesus. Now the question (you’ll recognize it right away!)  🙂

Why would you ever want anything less than that? If you are wise, nothing else (↔ Music Link) will suffice. If you are unwise, anything else will suffice. That was the mistake Israel made at Peor, but we need only remember the words of the Apostle Paul: Philippians 1:21 – 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. That is indeed Wisdom to support our rejoicing!

Thank you for your patience. I hope you found some useful memories in this bouquet of doozies. We should be able to go back to the usual format next week.

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

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

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – December 10, 2021 – A Bouquet of Doozies

December 10, 2021

2149AFC121021 – A Bouquet of Doozies (Part 1)

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Because of the incessant demands on our time in keeping up with medical appointments,I’m going to have to build a new post out of a collection of old posts, hence, the name A Bouquet of Doozies (instead of daisies). I’ve gone through Advent posts from 2011 through 2020 looking at messages from the second or third weeks in Advent. From those I’ve chosen a paragraph or two – in most instances – that were characteristic of the content. There are a couple of places where I have asked you to go off-site and  do a little sleuthing on your own. At the head of each paragraph is a link to carry you to that source-post. We’ll try this for this week and next, and then things should be “back to normal.”

1149AFC120911 – Aloha Friday Episode of Extreme Makeover   Next Sunday is the third of the four Sundays. It has been called Gaudete Sunday in times past, and usually the vestments are Rose or Pink. 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.

“Rejoice* always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5: 16-18) *Latin → Gaudete = rejoice ye

1150AFC121611 Mission Impossible? No! Did you know you have a Holy of Holies inside you? It is that place in you where you and God speak to one another “in Spirit and in Truth.” It is the life-core of your existence, the part of you made in the image of God. For that reason it is the holiest part of your life. You have heard and read that our bodies are to be a temple for the Holy Spirit. In the most-perfect portion of that temple is your spirit, and we think of it as dwelling in your heart. It is hidden and protected by a veil called Life. When the veil is removed, the spirit is released from your Holy of Holies.

1350AFC121313 – A Perfectly Good God We know that God wants us to be like him. He wants it so much he stacks the deck in our favor making it ridiculously easy to become what he seeks and to do what he desires. All we have to do is repent, to be unselfish as he is. I heard something from Fr. Gerry recently that really caught my attention. Eve and Adam stepped into sin and out of Paradise because of selfishness. Here’s how I see it: The serpent appealed to Eve’s love of God and told her, “He’s trying to trick you. He doesn’t want you to be like him. He knows if you do this you will be like him, and you can be his equal.” Eve, selfishly, thought she could become more than what God had created her to be – perfect and eternal; she desired that unquantified “more” and took the knowledge offered. When she realized what she had done, she offered Adam that knowledge. He already knew she had broken God’s commands, but he took what she offered anyway. Hence, it is Adam’s sin for he partook though he already saw it was wrong.

Within the hour of that first sin, God had promised a Redeemer, “for his steadfast love [mercy] endureth forever.” What a Good God we have!!

Repent and Believe …

1349AFC120613 – Mercy – Part 2 

He is there with his unlimited mercy before we sin. He is there with his unlimited redemption after we sin. He is overflowing with tender, loving compassion and sympathy for each of us. He knows every living soul. He knows the “good, the bad, and the ugly” about everyone. Even though we don’t deserve mercy, he makes it readily available in such abundance that we can never use it up. Although we are completely lacking in personal merits, and always tips the scales of justice in our favor. He forgives thousands of generations of sin because it pleases him to do so. Even people who are blatantly evil will be forgiven when they repent of their evil. Whether we sin willfully or unknowingly, in malicious rebellion or carelessness, he is immediately prepared to redeem us and make us righteous. No matter how many times we repent and then fail again, he forgives everything of which we repent, but never remembers how often that happens. Only he can do this because only he is Omniscient. He knows everything about me and yet he still loves me; sometime even I don’t love me, but his love never fails. HIS LOVE NEVER FAILS. That is because God knows every living soul more intimately than we know ourselves.

1449AFC120514 – Did you do that? We often hear it said, “You have to earn my respect!” I think that’s backwards. That’s not the way God does things, so it’s not the way we should do things. Returning to THE I.D.E.A.S. FORMAT ™ Working Definitions, respect is the gift of courteous consideration of others. Respect is not earned because that would make it a commodity that can be bought and sold. Respect is a gift given unconditionally and continuously. To accept the gift is to honor the giver, and that is also respect. God expects us to be stewards of everything on earth. When we do that, we are being responsible and returning God’s respect as our gift to him. Respect that deep is called reverence. In scripture this deep feeling of awe is called “Fear of the Lord.” It is not a fear that is frightening, but a powerful understanding that knowing and obeying God is an amazing and humbling fact. For this reason our goal should be to know fear. That is the responsible thing to do.

1450AFC121214 – Fully Aware I Trust Him A good master and a good servant are the basis for a good household, a good community, and a good nation. God himself is the epitome of the Good Master. Who is more faithful than God? Who can be trusted more than God? Who is more reliable, more believable, more honest? Who else is the embodiment of Truth? St. Augustine in his sermon on The Creed stated there are three things God cannot do. He cannot die, he cannot lie, and he cannot be deceived. These are not failings that arise out of weakness, but rather a testament to God’s infinite power and dignity. If a good master and good servant make a good combination, how much better is a combination of an infinitely good master and a good and faithful servant? We can only speculate about that because we, too, have at most done only what is expected of us; truth be known, we don’t make it to that level of excellence very often.

How, then, can we hope to hear or Lord call us “good and faithful?” We have that hope because HE is faithful! Paul explained that in his second letter to Timothy. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 – Here is a saying that you can rely on: If we have died with him, then we shall live with him. If we persevere, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. If we are faithless, he is faithful still, for he cannot disown his own self.

1549AFC120415 – Advent 2 What do we do? How do we get out of this mess? Hosea 12:6 – 6 But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God. We go back to him with all our heart. We repent. We give God glory and honor in worship and in day-to-day living. We trust God’s Mercy for us and for our enemies. We rely on God’s Justice for us and for our enemies. We do not tolerate evil and give it permission to enslave us, or harm us, or destroy what God has given. We oppose evil. We serve God. We give obedience to God above all others. We give all who willingly disobey God whatever justice he plans for them. We are, like Israel, in a protracted captivity because of our failure to know, to love, to serve, and to obey our Creator. If we want to look forward to being restored to the blessings of his Mercy and Justice, then we must “rend our hearts and not our garments.” We must make the internal changes that return us to his provident care.

1550AFC121315 – Aloha Friday Building Clinic This week 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 in this year of Mercy, because that Child of Mary is the Biggest and Bestest Act of MERCY ever!

1649AFC120216 – 2nd Advent. As you know, Advent is progressing. The stores and online shopping sites are bulging with stuff, enticing us to be indulgent and buy it for family, friends, coworkers, and – of course – for ourselves. We want what we want when we want it which is now. So much is going on! Amid the Holiday Rush we also have catastrophes in nature, unspeakable acts of violence and hate, corruption in every high and low place, and somehow – in all the ruckus and racket – a voice is heard saying Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! Maranâ thâ’! Maran ‘athâ’ – Come Lord! Our Lord has come! That, as we like to say, is “the reason for the season.”

Thank you for your patience. I hope you found some useful memories in this bouquet of doozies and that it wasn’t too boring. We should be able to go back to the usual format after next week’s post. It will be Part 2 of this collection.

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

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

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – December 3, 2021 – Are. You. READY?

December 3, 2021

2148AFC120321 – Are. You. READY?

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     John 3:2b-4a – … the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah …

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. We are already at the beginning of the season of Advent. Last year (↔ Click Link) we started a series on the idea of a single-mast ship heading out to sea. I don’t think we’ll have a series this Advent, but we will most likely have a continuation of the theme used frequently throughout the year: Repent! You may recall reading that the idea of repentance comes up a bit over 100 times in the Bible. It is an important topic, and understanding how it works is one of the things we can learn during this Advent season. It is a season of reflection and repentance.

Repentance is a part of the process of restoring our relationship with God. He does his part and we do our part. It’s not quite that easy – we sin, he forgives – but it’s not all that complicated really, especially when we know what we’re talking about. It’s the “S” word – Sin. God has created the universe and was kind enough and loving enough to include in the universe you and me and a bunch of the people we both love. That was the original plan, but it got a bit scrambled by Original Sin. Let’s figure out what that is.

God made everything, including us, to work together in a certain way. When we do that work, it is the right work and the outcome of that work is also right. When we do not do that work, when we do not stay within the parameters God set out for the universe, then what we do cannot be right, so it must be wrong. If what we do is wrong, then we are wrong, and we need to fix that; the problem is, we’re not created to be able to fix it. Only God can fix it, because only God can create what is Good. If we understand that we’ve done something wrong, we can feel badly about it – or not – if we choose. That is called remorse. We’re sorry we messed up, and that should be that. Unfortunately, remorse does not clear away the mess we’ve made. There’s something beyond remorse, and it’s called contrition. Often one of the synonyms listed for contrition is remorse, but there’s more to it as we shall see.

When we present a contrite heart to God, our contrition means that we are genuinely sorry for our wrongdoing – not just remorseful, not just regretful – but deeply sorry to point of being apologetic and (you guessed it!) repentant. Not only do we feel badly for what we’ve done, but also we are resolved to change our behaviors, our thoughts, and our relation with God and each other. We are willing to humble our inmost self and firmly decide that we will not repeat this sort of error in the future. That combination of contrition and repentance is the divinely built-in means of restoring us to the proper compliance with “God’s Rules for the Universe.” God does not make junk! Recall these words from Genesis 1:31 – 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Included in that “very good” assessment was the possibility of [1] Free Will, [2] Sin, [3] Contrition and Repentance, and [4] Redemption. Steps 3 and 4 only work properly if completed according to the Book of Promises – the B.I.B.L.E. What is it that makes step 3 lead to step 4 – Sincere Contrition and Effective Repentance? What might we find in the B.I.B.L.E. about Sincere Contrition?

Well, let’s start with the great Penitential Psalm, Psalm 51, and especially verses 10 & 17: Psalm 51:10, 17 – 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, [↔ Music Link] and put a new and right spirit within me. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. It is not in my power to renew my innermost self. All I can do is humble myself before God and rely on his Mercy to restore my soul to his specifications (not mine, his!). “A broken and contrite heart …” is tough to come by! Our innate sinful pride gets in the way and the words of the Father of Lies come out of our mouth saying, “Well, you know, it’s not really all that bad! I mean the standards are set so high no one could achieve them.” Ah, Belovéd, but The One did achieve – even exceed – those standards. Excuses are not the products of a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Excuses are the fanciful lies we tell ourselves when we are too proud to admit we are wrong. There’s more about that in the B.I.B.L.E.

Isaiah 57:15 – 15 For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. What is “revive,” and what is “revival?” Revive means to restore, to refurbish, to renovate and repair, to recondition, to make like new. Revival is revitalization, reinforcement, resumption, recovery, all with the goal to make new and alive again. It is God’s prerogative to do that, not mine! He said so; for example, here’s another gem from the Prophet in Isaiah 66:2 – 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word. These are HIS rules, not mine, not the Church’s (or churches). Now, with a least a scrap of an idea about “sincere contrition and effective repentance,” what might we see more clearly in today’s Key Verse?

      The writer is describing John the Baptizer [1] proclaiming a [2] baptism of [3] repentance for the [4] forgiveness of sins. It may seem unusual, but I’d like to start at the end of that passage and work toward the beginning:

4: Forgiveness of sins – we’re all pretty clear on that, right? We want to be absolved of our crime, pardoned for our iniquity, for our wickedness which we have deliberately chosen to commit. After all, that’s what Jesus did for us, right? His death on the cross, the institution of the Eucharist (as in Matthew 26:28 – 28 for this is my blood of the* covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. *Many ancient authorities read “new covenant”) In Apostolic Tradition we have from the Apostle Paul this in 1 Corinthians 11:25 – 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I want to cover “in remembrance of me” in just a bit.

3: Repentance – well, by now we must surely know that this means metanoia – a conversion in one’s life that arises from penitence (sincere and effective sorrow), and doing “a 180” so that whatever transgression(s) arose, we choose to delete that poor choice and replace it with a better choice.

2: Baptism – As with many words in our faith-walk, this is one we think “we know all about it.” It’s a Rite. It’s what Jesus told us to do in all nations. It can be done by sprinkling, anointing, immersing, dunking, and even someone who is not ordained can do it in an extreme emergency. All cool, but what does “baptism” MEAN? The root word is from Greek “baptizein.” It means to immerse, to saturate with or in a fluid, or to be completely changed inside and out. As a Rite in Christianity, it is an initiation into the Christian life and removes “the stain of original sin.” The origins of bathing or being immersed for ritual purity go back to the Mikveh in Judaism – ritual baths for attaining ritual purity. We can go way back to Genesis 1:1-10 when the earth was immersed in water and the Holy Spirit moved over the face of the water to make the earth. The concept is also applied to Jesus’ suffering, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Hebrews passing through the Red Sea, and a few others. John’s Baptism was one of repentance. Similar to a ritual cleansing, only conducted in the river rather than a bath specifically designed for completion of ritual cleansing. This is what John proclaimed as people responded to his call. Let’s finish then with “proclaiming.”

1: Proclaim – the public announcement of something essential, factual, and official by someone authorized to make the announcement. John was certainly authorized to announce the baptism of repentance. From the day of his conception, he was set aside by the Holy Spirit to be “a voice crying in the wilderness ‘make straight the way of the Lord.'” John was the Prophet tasked to announce the coming of the Messiah and the beginning of the Kingdom of God. John the Baptizer is one of those persons about whom people say, “He was born ready.” Now I must ask you, Belovéd, are you ready?

It is a time to reflect and to repent, a time to be immersed in a new life, a life that leaves behind the burden you don’t need (↔ Click Link) to carry with you. It will mean we will need to examine our consciences and see if there is contrition in our hearts. Can we remember a time when we realized we had deeply hurt a loved-one and had to face the consequences of the pain we caused? That hollow, sinking, flushed feeling is what it is like to be heartbroken over our mistakes. Sometimes we would rather avoid contrition as Israel had done when God spoke through his Prophet Jeremiah 44:10 – 10 They have shown no contrition or fear to this day, nor have they walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your ancestors. God asks us to remember his Love, his compassion, his forgiveness. We can do this every day at the Altar by Communion “in remembrance of me.” This is not just a symbolic rehearsal of a memory. The Greek word which describes this is anamnesis – the portion of the Eucharistic Prayer in which the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus are evoked. It is through the use of the canon of the rituals set in place by Christ himself that we are reminded of his Perfect Sacrifice which was the atonement for our sins. Anamnesis means “calling to mind.” Are we ready to do that in a way that is worthy of the calling which unites us with Christ and the Apostles? In this season of Advent, let’s focus on being completely immersed – baptized – in developing sincere contrition and effective repentance. In that way, we will “make straight the way of the Lord” and open the gates to welcome The King of Glory. (↔ Music Link)

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

Please follow this link for a new Catholic 365 article I wrote.

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

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

 

Aloha Friday Message – November 26, 2021 – Advent #1 – If ya snooze ya lose.

November 26, 2021

2147AFC112621 – Advent #1 – If ya snooze ya lose.

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     Luke 21:36 – 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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. It’s Advent! “The Holiday Season” and Christmastide is just a few “black Fridays” away. We will spend the next four Sundays thinking about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as the Son of God is born fully human and fully divine. We’ll sing Christmas carols, eat rich foods, and drink special concoctions. We’ll shop, and buy, and wrap, and give gifts. We’ll share the Joy and tell our Grinchey friends, “It’s OK to wish me Merry Christmas.” We might even dig out that pin we got somehow, somewhere that says “Jesus is the Reason for the Season;” or was it “Keep Christ in Christmas.”? Well, no matter whether we find it or not, we’re going to have a GREAT Christmas this year because we are being liberated!!

Yeah, we still have the masks and hand-sanitizer, but we can get more people into bars, restaurants, maybe even the Movies! It’s gonna be great for the Worldly folks! As for us who keep Christ in Christmas here in Kapaʻa, we can allow more people into the building for Mass AND we’ll get the hymnals back in the pews (not that all that may people actually sing the hymns). And then the Church hits us with this Reading (↔ Click Link) from the Gospel of Luke. Biblicists refer to this section of the Gospel of Luke as “eschatological discourse,” instructions about the end times given to Jesus’ Disciples as he predicts the total destruction of the Temple. There would be no Holly-Jolly Christmas Spirit in Jerusalem after the Romans got through with it! But wait! There’s more!

OK ʻŌmea, I know you’re not particularly fond of the homework assignments I give you in these posts, but I really do hope you’ll pick up on this one. I want you to go get your Bible – or find an online Bible you like – and read Mark 13, the Destruction of the Temple. Yup, you should read all 37 verses, and read the footnotes, too. You’ll see some parts that are pretty close to Sunday’s reading from Luke and a little bit more detail. One interesting parallel is in Luke 21:25-26 – 25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. This is a reference to Isaiah 13:10 and also, perhaps, Joel 2:30-31, and it is repeated and attributed to the prophet Joel in Acts 2:17-21. For the disciples gathered around Jesus at that moment, this was incomprehensible. They had been commenting on how large the stones were that were used to build the Temple.

Some were indeed HUGE! In the retaining wall for part of the Temple Mound the stones quarried were 15 feet thick, 25 feet tall, and 50 feet long! That is ONE stone! Jesus is telling them “Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” (See Mark 13:2) The restored Temple, ordered and supervised by Herod The Great, was a magnificent structure. Parts of the outer temple walls were covered with gold plating. It was said to be blindingly bright when the sun hit it. Near the top were blocks of white marble so pure that people said it looked like snow on the Temple. Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down. And so it was in about 70 AD when the Roman army completely destroyed (some say it was “on accident”) the Temple. Jesus’ predictions about what would occur after his death – which was imminent at that time – came to being literally as he had described them. That includes the persecutions, the opportunities to “testify,” by martyrdom, and even including “the Good News must first be proclaimed to all nations.” (See Mark 13:10; there is still much debate over what this actually means and whether or not it has already been fulfilled).

Everyone will experience these difficulties, these tribulations, these terrible disruptions of the entire framework of society. Jesus is telling his Disciples (and that better include you and me, ʻŌmea) that no one will escape seeing and being subjected to all this. Jesus continues by saying, “For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days.” It’s going to be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah PLUS the Great Flood, PLUS the centuries upon centuries of the persecution of Christians everywhere. That sort of lets the air out of all that hoopla that started about 2 weeks before Halloween. What are we supposed to do? And isn’t this already happening around the World right now? I mean, this is pretty terrible already, so worse-than-this must be … unimaginable.

Time to call up a memory verse – 1 John 4:4c – for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (Use that link for a contextual reading) I have often found deep comfort and consolation in that message. A bit up the page, the author is reminding us to “test the spirits” because there will be many who claim to be of God but are not. “Well, golly Chick, thanks for ruining the Christmas Joy for us.” Just a little longer, Belovéd, and we might restore it for all of us. Here’s a pair of quotes from the guy who uploaded a bunch of Aphorisms – “Always expect the BEST for and from yourself and others” and “Always seek, expect to receive, and accept the greater gift — the opportunity to give.” Now that’s the Christmas Spirit! Test that Spirit! Does it say, “Jesus Christ is Lord!“? Does it point to “Keep Christ in Christmas.”? Another Memory Verse: Philippians 4:13 – 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I can even Love as Christ requires.

1 Corinthians 13:1 – 1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 16:14 – 14 Let all that you do be done in love. St Augustine had a pretty high opinion of Love. He reportedly wrote, “Love. Then do as you will.” Ah, easy enough if you’re a Saint among Saints, but for a puny little sinner like me, that Love Augustine is thinking about is the AGAPE (ἀγάπη) of Christ. It is the real, heavy-duty, super-turbocharged diesel version of LOVE. Mine is more like a two-cycle weed-whacker motor kind of love. It takes everything I have to keep that going, too. I sputter to a jolting stop quite often when “Love your neighbor” turns into, “What is that idiot up to now?!?” That is not in the Spirit of Charity and Love. Do you remember the hymn, Ubi Caritas? Here’s a bit of an excerpt:

As you see, in this Latin hymn, charity and love are two different things. Charity is usually thought of as acts of kindness to supply something someone else needs – often money. Charity is humanitarian kindness, and it often arises out of humanitarian love. AGAPE is divine – PERFECT – kindness and it always arises out of PERFECT Divine Love. Charity is one of the works of faith we call the Corporal Works of Mercy. You may recall we studied those during Lent in 2010. Charity is the pragmatic expression of the commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s worth listing them once more as a reminder:

  1. Feed the hungry,
  2. Give drink to the thirsty,
  3. Welcome the stranger,
  4. Clothe the naked,
  5. Care for the ill,
  6. Visit the imprisoned,
  7. Bury the dead.

Now we see a pattern emerge in these lyrics. We have LOVE and we have Charity. When we build our lives around these two things, we work on those two Greatest Commandments:

Matthew 22: 36-40 – “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The hymn says that, “Where charity and Love are, God is there.” There is another hymn (↔ Music Link) you might be thinking of as you listen to this: “Where Charity and Love Prevail.” (↔ Music Link) Here are the first and last verses as I learned them many years ago.

Where charity and love prevail,
there God is ever found;
Brought here together by Christ’s love,
by love are we thus bound.

No race or creed can love exclude,
if honored be God’s name;
Our family embraces all
whose Father is the same.

And so, Beloved, we can know with certainty that we do His will when Charity and LOVE work together to the glory of God. Still, we must be alert for the enemy’s sneak attacks – which seem to be becoming more and more open and vicious!

     Must we then, be like Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody and practice “Constant Vigilance?” We don’t need to feel mistrustful of everything and everyone as if there were no defense for this time of tribulation. Jesus tells us to be watchful, to be alert, to be mindful of the signs and seasons. When we see the kinds of things happening that are listed in  Matthew 24:1-25:46 (↔ Click Link), Mark 13:1-37 (↔ Click Link), and Luke 21:5-36 (↔ Click Link), we need to be ready for the Day of The Lord – the return of Jesus and the Day of Reward. Jesus’ advice is pretty blunt when it comes to addressing how we could overlook such clear signs of The End: Luke 21:34-35a – “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” Meanwhile, what do we do about Christmas?

We enjoy it, Belovéd; we enjoy the giving and the feasting, the singing and fellowship, the kids and the grandparents, keiki and kūpuna, the cooking and even the cleaning. Just keep your eye on the world and your coat and hat by the door. Jesus is coming, and he’ll be calling for those who are his. We can take a clear clue from the color of the vestments: Violet – a time for reflection and repentance. And here’s the best way I know of to make it the most memorable Christmas: Extra prayers, generous giving of your time, and special sacrifices are the best way to prepare your soul for the Advent of Christ. These gifts from our best-self need no wrapping or ribbons to disguise the contents of the package. They are addressed to God, and to neighbor, and to all of those loved by God and neighbor. Now, there’s a Merry Mary Christmas! Don’t doze off in a cloud of distractions and miss the whole thing!

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

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

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

 

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