Aloha Friday Message – February 25, 2022 – Darkness Imitates the Light

February 25, 2022

2208AFC022522 – Darkness Imitates the Light

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

     Sirach 27:7 – 7 Do not praise anyone before he speaks, for this is the way people are tested.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – 58 Therefore, my Belovéd, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Luke 6:45 – 45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Perhaps you have heard it said, “Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.”  I think the key word in that second sentence is “hear.” Perhaps it could be restated as “until you listen to their speech.”

Recently we experienced a discussion during lunch about “The Hammer Song.” Those of a certain age will remember hearing it sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary who recorded it in 1962. The discussion centered on, “What does it mean ‘if I had a hammer?'” The words in the last verse help explain that: It’s the hammer of justice / It’s the bell of freedom / It’s the song about love between / My brothers and my sisters / All over this land. That sounds a lot like something we could all aspire to as an expression of Catholic Social Justice (↔ Click Link and save the PDF.) I played and sang this song dozens of times over the years, happily convinced I was speaking out for the marginalized, for those discriminated against, for the Glory of God. Then, recently, I found out how the song came to be.

The song was first sung by its composers Pete Seeger and Lee Hays at a benefit for Communist Party leaders (↔ Click Link) on trial in 1949. The lyrics were considered so controversial that no commercial publisher would accept responsibility for making it public. And so it lay around for ten or more years outside the hearing of the public and performed only within what we would call today “Leftist supporters.” It was picked up during the turbulent years of protest in the sixties. Bob Dylan also covered it. In fact LOTS of popular musicians sang it, and most of them were singing it as a protest song. I was in High School when PP&M recorded it, and I thought we were talking about segregation and intolerance. We were, in a way, actually promoting extreme leftists’ positions. Seeger allegedly quipped, “The song talks about the tools [of revolution], and we have the tools, and we know how to use them. And we’re going to win.” Everybody will perhaps recall a statement attributed to Soviet Leader Nikita “We will bury you!” What he actually said was “We must take a shovel and dig a deep grave, and bury colonialism as deep as we can.”

PP&M were frequently supporters of these leftist protests, and appeared to support the protests against the Viet Nam war, racism and segregation, Government “interference,” and any perception that America’s place in the world was as crisp and clean as the Government tried to make it seem. We see some of this in our lives today, only it’s even more complicated by the immediacy by which information – and misinformation or disinformation – can be transmitted via MSMOs, social media, and (here in Hawaiʻi) the coconut wireless. Added to that we have the radicalization of participants in the extreme left and right, and then radicalized “religious” zealots, and on top of all that the remarkable, and truly appalling, degree of apathy among a large segment of America, and – well shucks – WE’VE GOT A REAL MESS ON OUR HANDS! There’s an APP for that (I’m not tired of that yet; are you?)

We are in the biggest, baddest, most terrible war humanity has ever faced, and maybe 80% of the World is completely unaware of what’s happening. The Prince of the Air is smashing us to bits, and likely giggling about it every moment. Things we should like to believe in – like the presence of Angels in our lives, or apparitions of Saints (Like our Mother Mary for example) – are condemned and mocked. We hear allegations that such events are works of the Devil, and to prove it the accusers quote the Bible from this passage: 2 Corinthians 11:14 – 14 And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. The darkness can imitate the Light.

It’s a guaranteed fact Brothers and Sisters that Evil is in the midst of all this uproar. Consider this, also from John: 1 John 5:19 – 19 We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. Now, the World would have you believe that every living soul is a child of God. Those who have not studied Catholic Social Justice will perhaps say, “You even state that in the first principle of your doctrine.” NOT SO! The Baptized are the Children of God – all who have received him and accepted him (See John 1:12-13) and are therefore reborn of the Spirit of God. What the principle says is, “The foundation of all Catholic Social Teaching is the inherent dignity of the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God. The Church, therefore, calls for Integral Human Development, which concerns the wellbeing of each person in every dimension: economic, political, social, ecological, and spiritual.”

Our job then Belovéd, is to shed our Light on that darkness! Yes, WE have the Light of Christ if only the Spirit of God is in us; we are born of the Holy Spirit as children of God (see Romans 8:9-10). Belovéd, we must not listen to the World! Remember John 10:27 – 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. Add this as well: 1 John 4:1-4 – Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. 4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Do we see now how to test the spirits? Belovéd, at this point in history there is a plethora of earthlings employed as the antichrist.

“But what if someone gets up on National Television, says ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ and then we find out he’s just another crooked politician or fake ‘televangelist’?” Use this axiom: What we do says who we are. Actions speak louder than words. “By their fruits you will know them.” (← That’s from the Readings for 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 6:39-45) James 4:7 – 7 Submit*[i] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Does someone you see claim to be a child of God yet openly supports the “Right to abortion?” That kind of bad fruit comes from ‘a rotten tree.’ My dear friend in Arizona says, “Bloom where you’re planted.” Are we planted in the Word or are we planted in the World? Let’s go back to Noel Paul Stookey for an example.

In or around 1967, Stookey was approached by an unnamed fan who told him “I need to talk to you about God (I’m paraphrasing). After a long conversation, Paul’s life was changed (he prefers to be called Noel so I will do that hereafter). He lived as the “Born-Again Christian” about whom we all rejoice. It affected the dynamics of PP&M, but they worked it out. Later, Peter Yarrow asked Noel to write a song for his wedding. Noel came up with “The Wedding Song.” (↔ Music Link) It was a song written after a prayer by Noel asking God to give him the song that would please God most. That tune is the most famous and covered song he ever wrote. He could have made millions off of it. He didn’t do that. He gave it all away to charities because the song was a commissioned song – commissioned not by Peter Yarrow but by God himself. By their fruits you will know them. I cannot listen to that song without choking up, especially at the lines “woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.” That deep, clear, spiritual Truth is indeed inspired by and consistent with God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan. We’ve heard Noel speak in his lyrics and his actions. He deserves our appreciation and understanding for his works. Here’s something else that came up. He continued to be an activist, continued to support the marginalized, downtrodden, and those who had lost hope. He does so now from a better perspective – God’s.

If we will bloom where we’re planted, and if we stay planted in the Word and all that derives from it, we will be always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Darkness can indeed, through the highest Evil, imitate light; but it cannot BE Light. 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 8-9 – 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ so: Bloom in the Light of the Word who is our Lord. Then what we say, what we do, what we think, in whatever ways we live in God, we will be like The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. We must be abundant in the rich Light of the Word. Darkness will flee before us. We know that Evil will dominate everything at some place and time in history – His Story. Some might say we are coming close to that time. Belovéd it is upon us, the tsunami we have been expecting has washed over us because “Impending doom is none the worse / for having fallen / as expected, in darkness.” (See Poetry for Going Home pages 11-14 “Expectations on my 29th Birthday”

Let the Vinedresser prune so the light will shine among the branches.

If you would like to read more about Noel Stookey please  click this 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

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

[i] * hupotassó – Properly, “under God’s arrangement,” i.e. submitting to the Lord (His plan – the APP)

Aloha Friday Message – February 18, 2022 – We give up!

February 18, 2022

2207AFC021822 – We give up!

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

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 – 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 

      1 Corinthians 15:49 – 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Psalm 103:2-5 – 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Luke 6:35b-38 – Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.

Some days are better than others, right? Still, a Christian life can be an exceptional life, right? Here is some advice for men and women about taking steps toward this kind of exceptional life from 2 Peter 1: 3-8 – 3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hm. Wow! What shall we give? How about Love?

You read the passage from Luke. What’s the main point there? I’d sum it up this way: Be like God – generous, kind, forgiving, all without reciprocation; all for unrequited Love from your neighbor. Belovéd, that takes a lot of Love!! Here’s an example:

You might know that there are some people in the world that should not be allowed to own or operate a leaf-blower or a weed-whacker, and definitely not both. Yet we probably all know the neighbor that blow-dries his pickup truck, mows his half-acre lawn with a week-whacker right after a heavy rain, and then blows the wet grass cuttings into the flowerbeds. And then the echo comes to mind ,” 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Yes, it can be hard, no wait, that is really hard! But look at all the good things God has given you, and your neighbor too. He has those things – pickup truck, weed-whacker, leaf-blower. Maybe we do, too, but use them differently. Is patience and understanding too much to give? From what I know about God and giving, I think not.

By now ya’ll know I’m having a hectic week. I’ve lost count of the healthcare appointments Crucita and I have been to in the last 14 days. I’m going to do something I rarely do – start up a rerun. Here’s how I want to set it up:

 

The Measure of Giving and of Return
Your measure		 Your return God’s next step
A thimble A thimbleful brimming over A teacup
A teacup Overflowing into the saucer A coffee mug
A coffee mug “Bottomless” refills A stewing pot
A stewing pot Add a sauce pan A horse & cattle trough
A horse & cattle trough Includes a windmill pump A tanker truck
A tanker truck A double tanker truck A boxcar
A boxcar Double-stacked three packs A cargo ship
A cargo ship AFRAMAX (↔ Click Link) An Ultra-super-tanker ship
You get the idea! If you give what you get, you get what you give, only you get more of it for giving next.

 

Now, I ask you to either finish reading this excerpt from 1451AFC121914 – Generous Helpings, or use the link to go back to 2014 and reread that post. I hope to be able to get back on track in about three weeks, so “keep those cards and letters coming!” Here’s the excerpt:

Proverbs 11:24-25 – One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Patience; kindness; generosity; humility; courtesy; unselfishness; good-temper; guilelessness; sincerity–these make up the supreme gift, the stature of the perfect man. The most obvious lesson in Christ’s teaching is that there is no happiness in having or getting anything, but only in giving.  ~ Henry Drummond

Happiness is not in having what you want. It is in wanting what you have. Use of our spiritual and temporal gifts must be based on prudent stewardship and not on selfish motivations.

I have delivered that line hundreds and hundreds of times, in fact that short paragraph is part of my personal Mission Statement. You can see the whole thing online by following that link. I think it is an important distinction to understand; getting what you want is nowhere near as fulfilling as giving others what they need. Another adage that comes up often in what I write is

Always seek,
Expect to receive,
And accept
The Greater Gift.

What is the greater gift? It is the Joy of giving. Paul is recorded as having said in Acts 20:35 – In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” Some of you may wish to point out that there is no quote exactly like that in any of the Gospels. That’s OK because in the Gospel of John, the author himself tells us that not everything Jesus said or did was written down. Besides, Paul did actually meet Jesus, so who knows? Surely the awareness that Jesus held the gift of giving in high esteem is a reasonable inference from what we have of his teaching. There are few instances of the words generous or generosity in the Bible, and perhaps the most noteworthy is in Paul’s list of the Fruit of the Spirit. In the King James Version of the Bible, these words are phrased as “Dealt graciously,” “has done good to me,” or just “good.” (See Matthew 20:15 for example).

Generosity is something God understands very well. I have mentioned previously that the “famous Bible verse” about God’s generosity isn’t actually in the Bible. What is that verse? It is “God will not be outdone in generosity.” While it is true, it is not stated directly in the Bible. It is God’s own pattern of behavior. God is capable of awe-inspiring generosity, as scripture itself attests in so many places. He is teaching that they will have their needs met and more. His provisioning for believers covers not only supplying their needs, but also increasing their righteousness. Paul challenges them – and us – to emulate God’s generosity and reminds them that God’s goodness is the basis for great encouragement: God himself cannot be outdone because he is infinitely good, gracious, and does only good to those who love him; in fact he is so generous, he does good even to those who do not love him because ” … he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)  That includes me, you, and the guy with the leaf-flower.

Generosity seems to me to be a natural part of human nature. We often see it in babies and toddlers when a small child spontaneously offers to share food or toys with a parent, a sibling, or another toddler. They know what it means to be taken care of, and in their innocence, they return that caring – often with complete strangers. Somewhere along the line we learn to be selfish, and that pretty much puts an end to our spontaneous generosity; we have to relearn it, and we relearn it by being grateful. We are enriched by blessings, and especially enriched by bestowing blessings for “one who waters will himself be watered.”

Do you give of your surplus instead of sacrificially? Have you felt the Spirit reaching into your wallet, moving things around on your calendar, or prompting you to do good to “even to the least of these?” If you and I feel we have stopped that Spiritual inclination, perhaps it’s time to be humbled and to let God know how grateful we are for all his Good Gifts. Remember “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed”. (Proverbs 19:17), for truly Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. How much is enough and how much is too much? Better to ask, “How much is too little?” Turn your eyes upon Jesus for the answer to that one. We must give up to the Lord all that we are, and have, and plan to be. Our thoughts, words, deeds, works, prayers, sufferings, joys, sorrows, victories, defeats, fears and anxieties, our heart’s desires, everything we do and everything we fail to do – all without judgment or condemnation. Meditate on the JOY that could bring to our lives. Jesus himself told us, 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. (See Luke 14:33) Remember this? “Any of the things you have that you can give away are your possessions. Everything you cannot give away possesses you.” (~ after  Andre Gide) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits. The BEST of those benefits is that all will be made alive in Christ so that Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. Everything else is just not worth getting all jammed up about.  It’s far better to repent and believe (LIVE!) the Gospel.

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.

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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 – February 11, 2022 – You’re gonna get fired!

February 11, 2022

2206AFC021122 – You’re gonna get fired!

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

Jeremiah 17:5-6a – 5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert
Psalm 1a, 3 – 1a Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

1 Corinthians 15:16-17 – 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Luke 6:17-19 – 17 He [Jesus] came down with them [The Twelve] and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Last summer the nation – indeed the entire world – was caught up in astonishment, grief, and disbelief over the absolute destruction caused by The Dixie Fire (↔ Click Link). It started on July 16, 2021 when a tree fell over into a power line. In less than an hour, the town of Greenville, CA – the home of about 11,000 citizens – was obliterated on August 4th and 5th 2021. Over 1,300 structures were destroyed, and when the fire was finally declared contained in on October 25th, it had burned 963,309 acres or 1,505 square miles. It was a “compound fire” which means that several smaller (though still significant) fires converged into one humongous fire. The beautiful forests and lovely towns were completely transformed into sprawling piles of ash and ruins. The toll in lost livestock, homes, family treasures, history …. Literally everything went up in smoke. Such a massive transformation into devastation is usually referred to as being a disaster. In many places, nothing was left of homes and businesses except the foundation walls. Very little of what was left was salvageable, able to be saved or restored.

Disasters come in all sizes from small and personal to massive and incomprehensible. We’ve had a lot of massive disasters in the last ten years – earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, droughts, fires, blizzards, (and I’ll throw in politics, too), and we know there’s more to come. A few of us know that disasters like these are temporal and we stand a good chance of surviving long enough to see the next one. These few also know that disasters that are even more immense and beyond time and space are more than possibilities – they are certainties for all earthlings that do not live in the presence of the Lord, do not follow his ways, and no not heed his Word. We who are creatures of God’s making cannot be destroyed except by our own choosing. We can choose Faith and be transformed by the Fire of the Holy Spirit, or we can abhor Faith and be transformed by the fires of Hell. Mostly we don’t want to talk about that, but we should. The life we are given by God can be Foundational, Transformational, and Salvational. It is our blessing from God to choose how each of those turns out.

Our foundation can be trust or isolation. In the reading from Jeremiah in today’s first Key Verse, he states that those who trust in their fellow earthlings have nothing to ease their lives. They are like a bush living in the desert with no water, no change of season, and no fruit. Those who trust in God are like trees living a comfortable life close to water, bearing fruit in due season, and secure even in a drought. If our foundation is in the World, we have only the World for nourishment and protection – and a higher risk of a fruitless, short life. If our foundation is in God, we have the assurance of his nourishment and protection as well as the blessings of fruitfulness and long life – eternal life, in fact. We can choose the isolation of ephemeral Worldly gratification or we can choose eternal Heavenly sanctification. We can choose, so we must choose wisely. We need that wisdom so that our choice will be transformational.

I am confident that none of us would want the kind of transformation that the good people of Greenville experienced in the Dixie Fire. While it is true that the human spirit can recover or recuperate from nearly any material loss, it is also true that recovering from spiritual loss is often distinctly more difficult … unless we are transformed in, with, and through the Spirit of God. There are a couple of ways that happens. Let’s turn to the Apostle Paul for a description of one of those ways. We’ll go back and look at a familiar passage in Romans 12:1-2 – 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect. Note that he says “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” The root word there is the same as for our word metamorphosis. We think of butterflies and tadpoles changing from immature to mature critters. For us humans, it’s the same thing in a way – not so much a physical change – we don’t get more or different brain cells – but we do get a new mind. It’s like a transfiguration of our thinking, a renovation of the components in our thought processes. We can do that with worldly bling-bling, or we can do it with the influence and prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our minds mature from the childishness of Worldly wants to the maturity of Divine delights. It is a most pleasant transformation because it derives from the most pleasant foundation. We could think of it as renovation.

The whole idea of renovation has been a big, fat talking point in the Worldly wise for quite some time. We have people who “flip houses,” politicians who want to renovate – to restore a neighborhood or district by cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding. Their motto is “Out with the old and in with the new!” Sometimes it is a way to preserve historic places, or to convert run-down historic places into slick and glitzy boutiquery – a glut of “chic” boutiques selling mostly nonessential, high-priced junk. “Imagine, if you will” (Rod Serling never said that [↔ Click Link]) a complete renovation of our minds, a total rework of the internal structure of our thinking, as in a restoration by cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding how and what we think. Lots of people these days are trying to say the “the government is brainwashing us using the Major Syndicated Media Outlets to generate fear and misinformation.” That’s what happens if we let the World do the redecorating. Do you know that if you “kick the L out of” WORLD you have WORD? Let the WORD do the redecorating and we will have minds (and hearts) that understand and hold on to Salvational living! Salvational: Deliverance from the power and consequences of sin (death everlasting), and utterly complete redemption. And there’s an APP for that. Our other Key Verses for today illustrate it.

Psalm 1a, 3 Stay on the straight and narrow. Walk the Path of God’s design. Read Psalm 27 every day if you need to (or just memorize it), especially verses 1 & 11. Don’t hang out with wicked people – even though we’re surrounded by them and we are sinners, too, just remember GIGO – Gospel In Gospel Out. We need to do what we know is right and avoid what we know is wrong. When we mess up, we fess up – we repent and stick to it. Imitate Christ, not the scornful; be blessed in him who made you and gave you Living Water for fruit in due season. Your life shall not wither.

1 Corinthians 15:16-17 If you’re a Christian and you know it – ACT LIKE IT. We must know what and in whom we believe (↔ Click Link please) because he is able to guard us (↔ Music Link) What is there to believe? We openly believe in the life, passion crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension, Word, and Real Presence of Jesus, the Christ of God.

Luke 6:17-19 Jesus isn’t way out there hiding behind a big X-marks-the-spot like Fox Mulder intimates. He’s right here. He’s been divine since God first said Let there be …, and human since Mary said yes. He is the Truth, and the Way, the Light, the Life, and the whole rest of the B.I.B.L.E. Please scroll up and look at what I underlined. He comes to meet us face-to-face because he’s always going to level with us. We need only to look back into his face (↔ Music Link – I use Mr. Jackson’s recordings because they aren’t over-produced like many contemporary Gospel singers produce – even though some of what I post is like that).

And so, there it is Belovéd. We have a choice – easy to make but hard to keep – between Good and Evil. The tragedy of the Dixie Fire was unavoidable for the folks who lost everything, but most of them chose to get out and to live, maybe even rebuild. The choice we face is, in its own way, also unavoidable if we turn down the better choice. That choice has been made, and God made it first when and as he created each of us. Remember what Jesus told us in John 15:16 – 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. ((↔ Music Link)) And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. Choose him back. HE will baptize us in the Fire of the Holy Spirit and renew us as long as we live (YOLO-F – BTW), or we can instead choose the counsel of the wicked and sit in the seat of the scoffers so that we are baptized in the Fires of Hell (YOLO-F – BTW). Either way, my Belovéd sojourners, we’re gonna get fired. We are chosen by him, so let’s follow him, because power came out from him and healed all of them.

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 – February 3, 2022 – Singing Our Way Home

February 4, 2022

2205AFC020422 – Singing Our Way Home

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 6:8 – 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

      Psalm 138:1 – 1 With all my heart
I praise you, Lord.
In the presence of angels *
I sing your praises.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)  Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
* Some translations read “gods;” the word used is אֱלהִים – (elohim) {el-o-heem’} heavenly beings, who were completely subordinate to Israel’s God.

Aloha pumehana, a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! Warmest Aloha, and may God bless you, Belovéd! I’ll start with a bit of a heads-up – there’s a LOT of music in this post. I had a great time finding all of it, so I hope you will have a great time hearing it.

I look forward to this set of readings every time they come up. First, we have that passage from Isaiah – “In the year King Uzziah died …” There’s actual history in that because it was about 739 BC. He was the King of Judah for about 52 years. He decided he could short-circuit God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan and burn incense in the Temple. According to the APP (right along with repentance), only Priests were allowed to do that. His son Jotham had to take over for his dad until Uzziah passed. At that time Isaiah was probably in his early 70’s. He was sort of a “late bloomer” and there is inferential evidence that he was from an aristocratic family; his father’s name was Amoz. I look forward to this passage because of the way it ends.

Isaiah is at this big to-do at the temple and suddenly has a vision of God. God is saying, “Disaster is coming from the Assyrians. Who will go to spread the news? Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah said, “Oh it’s me! I know! Pick me! Pick me!” Actually he said, “Here I am! Send me!” And that, of course that leads us to the song we always (well, nearly) sing Here I am, Lord. (↔ Music Link) Dan Shutte wrote that, and I just love it! It chokes me up every time – especially “I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for Love alone.” I love to sing it.

Truth be told, I love to sing! and I love to listen to others sing. I’ve been doing something with music since I was about 3. It has always been a significant part of my life. I remember a cartoon we Todd Kids watched called I Love To Sing (Video Link!) . It was about a little owl from a very musical family. They were devoted to Classical Music, but he loved Jazz. Eventually the whole family came to the understanding that Jazz is music, too; it was a very happy moment for all of them. That rejoicing of togetherness comes from the togetherness of rejoicing.

OK, that sounds like double-talk but hang in there with me a little longer. Here’s something to think about. Look at this diagram.

Imagine that each dot is a set of 10,000 pages that look like this one in the image shown, and that each dot on each page represents one angel. That’s a beginning. Then imagine a Google of Googles (one Google is 6.023×10^23 individuals) of such collections of 10,000 pages, and well, that’s still just a beginning.

Now, think about all of those angels (“myriads upon myriads” as in Revelation 5:11) singing with you, “Holy. Holy. Holy (↔ Music Link)  LORD, God of power and might. Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory! Hosanna in the Highest!….” And that’s still just a beginning!!

Singing is one of those things which sometimes just happens. Kids make up little goofy songs (I told you once some time ago about my sister’s song Me-oh-my-oh, Me-oh-my-oh, Me-oh-my-oh MOE! Repeat ad nauseum). When young men’s fancies turn (and so also for young women’s fancies, too), ’tis a sign of Spring to hear them sing. When we feel joyful or rejuvenated, we … Love To Sing. (↔ Music Link – a little different take!)

I started thinking about singing this week because of the responsorial Psalm for this Sunday. It is Psalm 138. Folks, that is my absolute favorite Psalm! It is the only Psalm I have ever tried to set to music. I purposely have avoided memorizing it so I can read it new each time I see it. I love it because it grabs me with “In the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name.…” In my lyric-adaptation it goes “In the presence of the angels / I will sing your praise. / I will lift up my hands and / I will praise your Holy Name.” When you think about how GREAT God is, how loving, how kind, how forgiving, how GOD He truly is, then singing, shouting, jumping, dancing – all at once – seem to be just a natural reaction. You can’t stop singing because you really have to sing. (↔ Music Link) ← Don’t miss this one!

Singing is such an extraordinary form of worship! Hold up your hand if you know the name of the longest book in the B.I.B.L.E.! Yes! The book of Psalms – if measured by counting the number of verses. It is a collection, an anthology if you will, of songs by a wide range of “composers” like David, Moses, and Solomon. Some are attributed to known persons, but many of them have no attribution. SO? So the biggest book in the Bible is a SONG BOOK, therefore, singing must be something important because it’s something God really likes – he inspired all those lyrics you know. He likes poetry, too, because most of the prophetic works in the Bible are written in poetic form. Lots of songs we sing today come from the Psalms. My daughter’s favorite was Sing To The Mountains (↔ Music Link) (those Vrbo commercials are really annoying)

Another favorite that we can really “get into” is Sing a new song (↔ Music Link), and another fun one is the one attributed to St Francis – All Creatures of Our God and King. (↔ Music Link) I remember singing that around the campfire at IdRaHaJe. (↔ Map Link) Singing our worship is such an extraordinary experience. I am utterly baffled by the folks I sometimes see during Mass who manage to stand, sit, and kneel at the designated times, but will not sing a word of the liturgical or worship music! Sometimes the excuse is given “I can’t sing. I can’t carry a tune. My voice sounds terrible.” Well, it’s the voice that God gave you, so let him (make him) listen to it! The old adage attributed to St. Augustine is “He who sings prays twice.” More precisely the quote which St. Augustine actually said (↔ Information Link) was:

“For he that singeth praise, not only praiseth, but only praiseth with gladness: he that singeth praise, not only singeth, but also loveth him of whom he singeth. In praise, there is the speaking forth of one confessing; in singing, the affection of one loving.”

Give me a song to sing which I can use to praise God, and I’m gonna sing out and sing out strong. Now that reminds me of an old Cat Stevens song, “If you want to sing out, sing out.” (↔ Music Link) At least that’s how I remember the title. He wrote that song in the middle of his mania in the sixties, a mania many of us shared then, and it was directed toward finding real peace through expanded consciousness. Some tried everything from Zen to banana peels, acid to astrology, and never settled on anything substantive. Cat ended up embracing Islam, and successfully at that. His Muslim name is Yusuf Islam, and he continued to write music, work for peace, and became known as a great philanthropist and a Man of Peace. Bear that earlier lifestyle in mind when you listen to his lyrics from the mid-sixties. That music link will get you a free trip back through time to listen.

When you get a chance, sing out! Better still, live it up by singing it ^UP^. (get it?) Hum, whistle, make up a tune, yodel, or just drone with a joyful heart. God will absolutely love it, of course, because He absolutely loves YOU!! And there is no choir practice! And (you probably saw this coming) – it’s all in the APP! I pray, I sing, I sing, I pray and every time I feel the Spirit I sing and pray.

I decided that today I would send you a lyric of a tune I wrote way back in 2006. Psalm 138. The melody is in the genre of four-part gospel harmony as you would hear from groups like The Florida Boys. Anyway, I’m trying to memorize it because it’s fun to sing. If you get a chance, look up Psalm 138 and read it for yourself. I just love the idea of standing with the angels and lifting up my hands as I shout out praise God. That’s quite a picture! So, enough of that. Here are the lyrics. Have a great weekend, beloved, and maybe you can make up your own tune for this little ditty!  (or ask me for a copy of the sheet music)

CHORUS (ALSO THE FIRST VERSE):
1: In the presence of the Angels I will sing your praise.
I will lift up my hands And I will bless your holy name.
I will bow down before You And your Temple on High.
I will sing of your promises, Your faithfulness and love.

2: I know that you hear me Every time I pray.
You strengthen my heart And you get me through the day.
All of Earth’s Kings and Princes And Peoples of  all lands
Praise your Name for your Promises. They shout, and clap their hands.
And: Chorus

3: O Lord God Almighty, I live safely in your care.
The proud and the wicked You point out everywhere.
You bless the meek and lowly, And fill them with your Light.
To the fury of my enemies You lead me in my fight.
So: Chorus

4: Though danger’s all around me And enemies close in
Your strong right hand will save me You are with me to the end.
Your love endures forever. You will not abandon me.
I will sing your praise forever In eternal harmony!
For … : Chorus

P.S. Did you know that when you sing praise to God, the Angels join in? They already know all the words and melodies! Scriptural singing must really be something special
AND THEN THERE ARE THE LOVE SONGS . . 🙂

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 – 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

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 – 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

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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

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 – 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

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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 – 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!!

 

 

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